A quick response to some seventh-inning drama lifted the No. 24-ranked Central College softball team to a 4-1, 4-3 doubleheader sweep of St. Olaf College (Minn.).
With the Dutch up 3-2 in the seventh inning of the nightcap and starting pitcher Emma Beck seemingly cruising to a win, St. Olaf’s Jaelyn Orth, who entered the game as a relief pitcher rocketed a game-tying home run over the left field fence.
But despite the deflating blow, the Dutch (12-5) wasted little time with the answer as the first three Central batters in the bottom of the seventh reached base and one out later, freshman catcher Rylee Dunkin punched an infield hit past the pitcher for the walk-off win.
“We had the top of the order up and they’ve been swinging it pretty well,” coach George Wares said. “The next thing you know, we’ve got the bases loaded and I felt pretty good then. With Megan Stuhr up and then Rylee and Hannah Higgins, I thought somebody was probably going to come through.”
Beck rebounded from a rocky first inning when she allowed two runs on two hits and two walks. She limited the Oles (5-3) to just one hit over the next 5.1 innings before giving up the tying long ball. Morgan Schaben got the final two outs and picked up the win to improve to 4-0.
“Emma has started slow sometimes and just can’t get command,” Wares said. “But then she came back and retired 10 straight and probably because of that, we left her in (the seventh inning). She pitched much better after that first inning.”
Rebounding from the 2-0 deficit, the Dutch got a run in the second inning on a run-scoring hit from left fielder Megan Doty (5th-year, Grinnell). Shortstop Carson Fisk then tied it in the fifth, stretching a shot into the right-centerfield gap into a triple and scoring on an errant throw as she slid into third. Central took its first lead later in the frame when center fielder Emma Johnson reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch.
Central outhit the Oles 8-4 in the game as Stuhr and Fisk each had two hits while Johnson scored twice.
In the opener, St. Olaf left the bases loaded without a run in each of the first two innings as pitched Sydni Huisman danced her way through trouble much of the way. She allowed a run on seven hits and five walks over 4.1 innings with four strikeouts.
Central got two first-inning runs and added single tallies in the third and sixth innings. Meanwhile, Schaben entered in the fifth, pitching 2.2 shutout innings, allowing two hits and no walks while fanning two for her first save as she continues to carve out her niche as a shutdown reliever.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how valuable Morgan is,” Wares said. “She’s just a real big part of what we’re trying to do. She loves her role and fits that role so well for us.”
The Dutch were outhit 9-7 but Johnson was 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI and Dunkin was 2-for-2 with one RBI.
“Give St. Olaf credit,” Wares said. “They pitched us well. They’re a quality team, coming in at 5-1 and they’re headed to Georgia now and I think they’ll do well. And I think they’ll be upper division in Minnesota. We had a lot of things that didn’t go well but we were still able to win two so that’s always positive.”
It was a needed boost for the Dutch after suffering an emotional blow the previous day, when right fielder Emma Jensen sustained a season-ending injury in practice.
“We’re banged up right now,” Wares said. “And losing Emma Jensen, we just feel so badly for her.
“We need to get some rest, so we were really hoping to get two today because then it makes the rest a little easier.”
Central is home again with another Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference foe Saturday, March 30, taking on the College of Saint Benedict (Minn.) in a 2 p.m. doubleheader at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex softball field. The Blazers are off to a 2-6 start after opening against top-tier competition at the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic in Georgia. They meet Coe College in an indoor doubleheader at St. Cloud Saturday evening and travel to Wartburg College March 29 before heading to Pella.