A first round bye in the Iowa Conference softball tournament is supposed to ensure that you play one game on the first day; but one game turned into two – sort of – as Central College battled Coe for 14 innings before eventually falling 8-7 yesterday in Decorah.  
The Dutch took a first-inning lead on Katie Tenboer’s RBI single, but found themselves trailing 3-1 before Tenboer hit a solo homer in the fourth.  It was 5-2 Coe entering the bottom of the sixth when Central rallied for a pair of runs to make it 5-4.  
Coe added a run in the seventh, but the Dutch weren’t ready for the action to end.  They loaded the bases; prompting the Kohawks to bring ace pitcher Ashley Simon in for relief, and Angela Davis promptly delivered a game-tying two run double.  Tenboer walked to re-load the bases with nobody out, but Central couldn’t muster the winning run.  
Central freshman Brie Haycraft battled Simon for 6 scoreless extra innings before Coe scored a pair in the top of the 14th on a solo homer and a bases loaded walk.  Davis hit a home run to cut it to one in the bottom of the 14th, but that was it, and Coe earned an epic 8-7 win.  
The loss sends Central into the losers’ bracket of the double elimination tournament and they’ll play at noon today against Simpson.  If they win they come back at four o’clock against either Cornell or Loras  You can hear all of Central’s Iowa Conference tournament action live on www.kniakrls.com

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