After suffering a 4-3 loss to Bethel of Minnesota in 9 innings in the NCAA Division III softball regional Friday morning, Central College staved off elimination with a 2-1 win over Grinnell last night. Both games were broadcast live on 92.1 KRLS.

The 22nd-ranked Dutch struck first against the #11 Royals, with Haley Bach racing home on a double steal in the top of the first inning, followed by a Megan Doty RBI single to take a 2-0 lead. Bethel tied it in the third on a pair of bases loaded walks, then Central reclaimed the lead in the top of the seventh on Bach’s RBI hit. But Bethel got a sacrifice fly to even the score in the bottom of the inning, then won it on another sac fly in the ninth.

That sent the Dutch into the loser’s bracket where they ran into the Pioneers, who they beat 3-2 on Thursday. Central pounded out six hits to score a pair of runs in the third inning, with Bach and Stuhr each driving one in. That was enough for Sydni Huisman, who allowed just two hits and one unearned run, while retiring 15 straight Pioneers at one point.

“The biggest thing for me was getting ahead in the count”, Huisman said. “Working in and out, moving the ball around a little bit and having confidence and playing loose.”

That sets up a rematch with Bethel today in the regional final. The Royals (35-3) will need to win just once, while coach George Wares’ Dutch (32-10) will have to sweep a team that’s only lost three times all season.

“The first one is everything”, Wares said. “I really think if we go to game two, everything changes. She (Kayla Simacek) is phenomenal, we saw that today. She pitched very well against us. We just have to do everything we can to find a way to win in game one and then I like our chances in game two.”

First pitch is at noon today at the Kuyper Athletic Complex, with pregame starting at 11:45. Trevor Castle and Kara Huisman will call the action on 92.1 KRLS and CentralDutchNetwork.com.