Pitcher’s Duel Ends Central Softball Conference Tourney Bid
The sequel mirrored the original but even with another poised performance from freshman pitcher Emma Beck, the Central College softball couldn’t rewrite the ending as Luther College walked off a 1-0 American Rivers Conference tourney semifinal win Saturday.
The No. 23-ranked Norse (32-7) advance to the tourney title game against Wartburg College, an upset winner over top-seeded host Coe College earlier Saturday. The title contest was pushed back to Sunday after Saturday’s action was delayed by rain. The tourney winner receives an automatic bid to the 62-team NCAA Division III tournament while the loser will join Central (31-9) and No. 18 Coe (31-8) as both hopeful yet not certain of receiving an at-large berth. The field will be announced at noon Monday via ncaa.com.
Saturday’s game marked the third time in 10 days that Luther and pitcher Kendra Cooper toppled No. 22 Central. Cooper and Beck dueled in another 1-0 game at Pella May 3 after Central dropped the opener of that day’s doubleheader 6-2. Cooper (21-3) extended her scoreless innings streak against the Dutch to 15 innings on Saturday. She limited Central to just two hits and two walks while striking out seven, and didn’t allow a baserunner to advance beyond first base.
Three times Beck was faced with the bases loaded and one out. Twice she got out of the jam and was on the brink of doing so again in the seventh inning until Sydney Schultz beat out a two-out infield hit to bring home the game’s only run. Central got a pair of singles from right fielder Emma Jensen but that was the extent of the offense. Beck (10-3) scattered nine hits over 6.2 innings. She walked five batters, although four were intentional, and struck out four.
Central is hoping for its first NCAA Division III tournament appearance since 2019. The Dutch have had 30 NCAA berths under Wares, winning four national titles.
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Dutch Women Third at Conference Track Meet
A balanced scoring attacked helped the Central College women’s track and field team to third place and its best finish at the American Rivers Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in eight years.
The Dutch finished with 103 points and in the top three for the first time since a runner-up effort in 2015. Loras College won with 243 points.
Caroline McMartin added two more runner-up finishes to her weekend in the 1,500-meter run (4:33.23) and 5,000-meter run (17:52.26). She previously took second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday. Megan Johnson was third in the 5000 meters (17:53.05) and eighth in the 1500 meters (4:42.07). Hailey Hill added a seventh place run in the 5000 (18:38.28) A third-place finish in the 4×100-meter relay put a young Central squad on the podium. Mary Gustason, Abbi Roerdink, Willa Sickelka, and Emily McMartin became the fifth-fastest quartet in school history in 47.83 seconds.
Roerdink also finished on the 400-meter dash podium, taking third in 57.19 seconds. It’s the eighth-fastest mark in program history. Lauren Brown placed eighth in 1:01.87. Roerdink led off the fourth place 4×400-meter relay squad also featuring Abby Gruver, Sickelka and Brown that finished in 3:58.63. Emily McMartin added a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter dash (12.47 seconds) and an eighth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (25.59 seconds). Gruver was sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:05.01. Olivia Bohlen was sixth in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.84 seconds. Cali Coffman was fifth in the pole vault by clearing 9-6.25.
Central hosts a heptathlon last chance meet on Tuesday and Wednesday and is set to send athletes to the Augustana Twilight Qualifier in Rock Island, Illinois on Thursday.
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Silver and Klein Shine for Central Men at League Track Finals
Caleb Silver and Brody Klein had their second all-conference performances of the weekend as the Central College men’s track and field team finished fifth at the American Rivers Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Central was fifth in the team standings with 95 points. Wartburg College was the team champion with 241 points.
Silver was runner-up for the second time this weekend, crossing the line in the 5,000-meter run in 14 minutes, 55.83 seconds. Klein led the three scoring Central pole vaulters in third place with 14 feet, 1.25 inches. Lucas Heitz and Jaxon Thompson were fourth and fifth after clearing 13-9.25. Heitz took the higher spot after doing it in fewer jumps. Freshman Grant Miller just missed the podium in the 110-meter hurdles, taking fourth in 14.91 seconds. He was the odd man out of Central’s decathlon crew because only four of the five were allowed to enter based on league rules. The 4×100-meter relay team of Connor Miklos, Jackson Moats, Brian Hart, and AC Carson was fifth in 42.36 seconds.Hart, Noah Erickson, Cason Zeitler, and Kaleb Brand were also fifth in the 4×400-meter relay in 3:20.83. Noah Jorgenson scored in both the 1,500-meter run (fifth, 3:51.31) and the 800-meter run (eighth, 1:56.79). Adam Sylvia was sixth in the 1500 meters (3:51.92). Brand placed sixth in the 400-meter dash in 49.09 seconds. Triple jumper Kale Purcell was seventh with a mark of 42-8.
Central hosts a decathlon last chance meet on Tuesday and Wednesday and is set to send athletes to the Augustana Twilight Qualifier in Rock Island, Illinois on Thursday.