The 20th-ranked Central College softball team claimed their first outright American Rivers Conference Championship since 2019 by racing past Loras College 8-1 in the second game of a doubleheader Monday afternoon. 

The Dutch claimed the top spot in the conference after rebounding from a 3-0 loss in the opener. Already assured of at least a share of the program’s 14th conference crown, all under NFCA Hall of Fame coach George Wares, the Dutch (28-9 overall, 13-3 conference) earned the right to host the league’s six-team conference tournament Friday and Saturday. 

Among the most significant contributions to Monday’s success came from fifth-year pitcher Morgan Schaben. When game one starter Sydni Huisman allowed three first-inning runs, Schaben came into the game and silenced the Duhawks on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts over the final 6.2 innings. Then in game two, she tossed hitless ball over the final 2.2 frames in relief of starter Emma Beck, giving her 9.1 innings of shutout action. The three first-inning runs were all Loras needed in game one however, as Ashlyn Hemm shut out the Dutch on just one hit, walking three and fanning eight.

Central broke out with eight hits in the second game, scoring eight runs in the first three innings. Franie Burnett and Megan Stuhr had RBI doubles while Emma Johnson was on base four times with a single, a double and two walks, while driving in three runs and scoring two. Beck, who was named the conference pitcher of the week for the third time this season Monday, gave up a run on four hits and a walk while striking out four over 4.1 innings to improve to 13-4.

The single-elimination tourney opens Friday as fourth-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan (26-10) meets fifth-seeded Simpson (26-12) at 2 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex softball field. Central opens the tourney at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Nebraska Wesleyan and Simpson.