Late-Inning Home Runs Set Up Central Softball Walk-Off Win

The Central College softball team welcomed Illinois College to Pella Saturday afternoon and split a non-conference doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS. Addi Starr’s single in the bottom of the seventh gave the Dutch a 7-6 win in the opening game, but had their 13-game winning streak end with a 12-3 loss in the nightcap.

Central found themselves in a 6-2 hole in the bottom of the fifth inning in game one. Rylee Dunkin and Larissa Miller started the frame with back-to-back singles, setting up Sarah Stufflebeam’s three-run blast to pull Central within one. Dunkin led off again in the bottom of the seventh and blasted the game-tying home run. Miller then singled again and moved to third on a passed ball and Stufflebeam sacrifice bunt. Starr followed that with the two-out single to plate Miller for the winning run. Jadyn Huisman was the winning pitcher, despite walking eight batters in extremely windy conditions. She struck out two, and gave up four hits for three earned runs. Ella Morse yielded the other three runs in 1.1 innings of relief.

The Lady Blues pounded out 15 hits, including three doubles and two home runs, to score 12 runs in the second game. Peyton Levine suffered her first loss of the season. Ali Henry led the Dutch with two hits and an RBI in the loss, while Starr and Huisman each also had an RBI.

Central opens American Rivers Conference play Friday at Luther College in Decorah for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.

Dutch Win Baseball Weekend Series Against Knights

For the first time since 2009, the Central College baseball team won a three-game series at Wartburg College, splitting Saturday’s doubleheader with a 14-12 win and 11-10 loss. The Dutch (9-11, 4-2 ARC) also won the Friday night game 6-5.

In the first game, Central raced out to a 10-3 lead after tallying six runs in the top of the fourth. Wartburg put up three crooked numbers in a row to take a 12-11 lead after seven. The Dutch tied it in the eighth, after two errors aided Jaden Kramer to score. Bryer Wiley’s triple in the ninth inning set up Brayden Sawyer’s game-winning RBI single. Sawyer also scored on a Max Steinlage sacrifice fly. Turner Williams was the winning pitcher after working the final two innings, striking out four of the six batters he faced. Jackson Torbit was the starting pitcher, throwing 5.0 innings and striking out five batters. He allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and three walks.

Game two was a wild affair with all 21 runs crossing the plate on a combined 10 home runs. Central trailed 9-4 entering the seventh before Sawyer and Dom DeLaPaz each blasted three-run home runs to give the Dutch a 10-9 lead. Wartburg answered with a two-run home run to take the lead for good. Reliever Bo Gerbracht was the losing pitcher after giving up the home run in the seventh. Wiley was Central’s starter, throwing 6.0 innings and striking out four while allowing seven earned runs.

Central travels to Storm Lake for a 6 p.m. game against Buena Vista University on Tuesday.

Dutch Blanked by Pioneers Men’s Tennis Team

Squaring off against the No. 27 team in Division III, the Central College men’s tennis team lost to Grinnell College 7-0 Saturday. The Dutch (1-12) also lost to Illinois College with a second group of players 7-0.

Against Grinnell, Alex Slaymaker won his first set in the No. 2 singles match, but ultimately fell 3-6, 6-4, 1-0. Francisco Centeno Molina pushed his opponent to the edge in the second set of his No. 5 single match but lost 6-0, 7-6 (8-6). In the Illinois College match, Trey Hull also won the opening set of his No. 2 singles match, but lost 3-6, 6-1, 1-0. Aaron Meinders also won the first set at No. 6 singles but lost 2-6, 6-1, 1-0.

Central starts American Rivers Conference play at Simpson on Wednesday at 4 pm

Central Hosts Dutch Holiday Preview Track and Field Meet

The Central College track and field team opened their outdoor season by hosting their home invitational Saturday with representation from 28 different schools. Team scores were not kept.

Gunner Meyer became the first Central hurdler to go under 14 seconds in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, winning the finals in 13.87 seconds after a time of 13.71 in the prelims. Danika Arnold, Olivia Phillips, Riley Packer, and Addison Clark won the women’s 4×400-meter relay in 4:03.09. Donovan Card won the men’s 3,000-meter run in 8:50.16. James Brant was second in 8:54.29 and Austin Vander Werf was third in 8:57.73. Teah Miller was third in the women’s 3,000 meters in 10:27.47. In the men’s javelin throw, Grant Miller was second (177-4) and Kale Hobart was third (176-11). Emily McMartin was runner-up in the women’s 200-meter dash (24.77 seconds)

A group of Central’s distance crew were also in action at the Washington University Distance Carnival and had new career personal-best times. Jack Brown ran the second-best men’s 1,500-meter race in program history, taking third in 3 minutes, 46.15 seconds. On the women’s side, Peyton Steffen was seventh in the 5,000-meter run (16:36.76). while Maddy Stevens was 39th (17:26.99). In the women’s 1,500m, Kyra Cordes was 33rd (4:41.57) and Kelley Duffy was 36th (4:43.34).

Central will compete at the Wartburg Select next Thursday and Friday in Waverly.