Central Men Cruise to Tennis Quarterfinal Win
Making it to its 10th straight American Rivers Conference semifinal, the Central College men’s tennis team defeated Nebraska Wesleyan University 5-1 in the quarterfinals Tuesday night.
The Dutch (12-10) advance to the semifinal Thursday at No. 2 Coe College. The Dutch have played in every conference tournament semifinal since 2013.
Central got the ball rolling with an 8-0 win from Alejo Marcon and AJ Wilkins at No. 3 doubles. The No. 1 tandem of Caleb Hamerlinck and Nick Scott followed suit with an 8-2 win. Scott added a No. 2 singles win by a 6-0, 6-1 margin. Ayden Fletcher and Matthew Den Adel added wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively, by identical 6-0, 6-2 margins.
Central will play in Cedar Rapids at 4 p.m. Thursday. Coe beat Central 5-1 in Pella last Saturday.
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Burnett Grab Helps Secure Central Softball Sweep
The Central College softball team peppered the field with 19 hits in two games Tuesday, but it took the glove of third baseman Franie Burnett to secure a doubleheader sweep of Buena Vista University.
After a 9-0, five-inning runaway in the opener, the 20th-ranked Dutch (27-5 overall, 8-2 American Rivers) escaped 6-5 in the nightcap.
A two-run sixth-inning home run cut a once-comfortable Central lead to 6-5. And when speedy Buena Vista leadoff hitter Paige Druskis drew a walk to open the seventh inning, the Dutch advantage was suddenly on shaky ground.
Head Coach George Wares re-entered starting pitcher Emma Beck, replacing reliever Morgan Schaben. On Beck’s first pitch, Rylee Cain blooped a sacrifice bunt attempt. Druskis took off for second base to potentially put the game-tying run in scoring position as the ball appeared to be out of Burnett’s reach—to everyone but Burnett. She dove to her left, stretching her 4-foot-11 frame to make the catch, then fired to first base from her knees to double up Druskis.
Buena Vista jumped on top 2-0 in the top of the first but Central got single tallies in the first two innings, then added two runs in the third and two more in the fourth. The Dutch outhit Buena Vista 11-6 in the game and got three hits from center fielder Emma Johnson along with two hits from designated player Emma Lenox, who rocketed a two-run double to left-center in the fourth inning. Second baseman Haley Bach also had two hits to go with a pair of hits in the first game.
Beck improved to 9-0, throwing 85 pitches over six innings, allowing three runs on four hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Schaben gave up two runs on two hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts in one inning.
Schaben also threw an inning of relief in the opener, allowing a hit and a walk. Sydni Huisman needed just 53 pitches to navigate four innings of shutout ball, giving up three hits and a walk while fanning three to raise her record to 13-3.
First baseman Megan Stuhr had two hits and a walk in the opener while right fielder Emma Jensen had two hits and drove in four runs. She had three hits with five RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base on the day, continuing her recent offensive emergence.
Bach was on base six times, sending her batting percentage to a lofty .587, and scored three runs, giving her 46 for the year, six shy of Abbey Strajack’s 2015 school record. Bach entered the day ranking second in the NCAA Division III in runs per game and sixth in on-base percentage.
It will be a top-25 match-up when Central travels to Cedar Rapids Saturday for a 1 p.m. conference twinbill at No. 17-ranked Coe College.