Pitcher Kiley Lythberg had a rocky outing in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament, but the offense for the Central College softball team came to her aide, as the Dutch outlasted Benedictine 12-7 Thursday afternoon.  
Despite giving up an uncharacteristic 14 hits, Central never trailed the Eagles; using 12 hits and a season-high six stolen bases to keep control of the game.  First baseman Katie Tenboer, designated player Rachael Everingham and right fielder Emily Te Brink each had two hits to lead the Central offense.  
Lythberg improved her record to 18-5, but gave up four runs on eight hits in four innings of work.  Rhianna Fleetwood picked up the save for the Dutch.  
The win snaps a five-game NCAA tournament losing streak for Central and also allowed Head Coach George Wares to reach another milestone, as he tied the all-time Division III record for coaching victories with 906.  
That sets up the fourth showdown of the season between Central and Coe College.  The seventh-ranked Kohawks escaped Wisconsin-Whitewater 1-0 Thursday.  You can hear the Central College softball game with Coe broadcast live on 92.1 fm KRLS with Trevor Castle, starting at approximately 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.