Kelly Harris April 28, 2008

Dutch bats sizzle in sweep

ROCK ISLAND, ILL.—Wind chills were in the low 30s but Central College’s softball bats sizzled Monday night as Ryann Engholm (junior, Bloomington, Minn., Thomas Jefferson HS) belted two home runs, Kelly Harris (senior, LeClaire, Pleasant Valley HS) broke the school season home runs record with another and Katie Tenboer (freshman, Morrison, Ill.) ripped her first roundtripper ever in sweeping Augustana College (Ill.) 8-4 and 9-0 in five innings.  

It’s been a season of struggles but suddenly the young Dutch (23-14) have won seven of their last eight games, racking up 68 runs heading into the start of the Iowa Conference tournament in Waverly Thursday. Augustana slipped to 24-16.

Harris, one of four Dutch starters who attended nearby Pleasant Valley High School, put on a show for her Quad-Cities fans, going 5-for-7 with a walk. She ripped her ninth homer of the season, a two-run shot in the opening game. That topped the school record of eight set by Tina Shimak (2004) and was the 15th of her career. Harris also stole three bases and picked off two baserunners, pushing her school career record pickoffs total to 48.

Engholm, who lifted Central to a 9-3 win at Luther College Saturday with a grand slam, followed with home runs in each game Monday night. She was 3-for-3 with two walks, knocking a two-run homer in the opener and a solo blast in the nightcap, giving her six homers for the year after not hitting any in her first two seasons.

And Tenboer, who had never homered in high school, delivered her first collegiate blast in her return to her home state, a three-run shot in a five-run third inning in the nightcap, and followed it with a two-run double in a three-run fourth.

But coach George Wares was most impressed with the Dutch defense. Another Pleasant Valley grad, left fielder Hannah Weindruch (junior, Bettendorf) threw out two runners and right fielder Laura Braun (sophomore, Newton) threw out another.

“Our outfield was phenomenal,” Wares said. “Laura Braun made three over-the-shoulder catches and Hannah made some great throws. Our outfielders were just really, really good.”

And Harris’ first pickoff was especially timely. In an early first-game jam, Augustana had runners on second and third with two outs and a 3-1 count on the batter. Wares gambled with a surprise pitch-out that walked the hitter but Harris gunned down the startled baserunner at second base to end the threat.

Wares rotated his hurlers so that all five saw time in the circle. Amy Zellmer (senior, North Mankato, Minn., Loyola HS) got the win in relief in the opener to improve to 3-1. Tenboer entered in the third inning of the five-inning nightcap and shut out the Vikings the rest of the way, moving to 2-1.

“Amy (Zellmer) pitched really well,” Wares said. “She came in and got us out of a little bit of a jam.”

Wares said the wins give Central a needed lift.

“It’s a pretty good confidence-builder,” he said. “These are two good wins to get going into the Iowa Conference tournament. It also does show how good our league is.”

Iowa Conference tournament—Central carries the No. 5 seed into the six-team Iowa Conference tournament Thursday at Waverly, taking on fourth-seeded Luther College (27-10 overall, 10-6 conference) at 10 a.m.

The double-elimination tourney concludes Saturday, with the tournament champion receiving the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tourney. The 59-team NCAA field will be announced late Sunday. The first round of tournament play will be staged at eight predetermined sites May 8-12. The eight winners advance to the national finals May 16-20 in Salem, Va.

Central captured the Iowa Conference tournament title in 1985, the team’s first season with Wares. The tournament was discontinued until 2006 and the Dutch haven’t enjoyed as much success in its revised form. Central posted a 1-2 record in 2006 and was 0-2 last year. Both of those tournaments were held at Fort Dodge but now the regular-season champion serves as the tournament host.

Central and defending league champion Luther met Saturday in Decorah, with the Dutch falling 7-4 in the opener before rolling up a 9-3 win in the nightcap.

The Central-Luther winner takes on top-seeded Wartburg College (26-6 overall, 15-1 conference) at 2 p.m. Thursday while the loser comes back Friday at noon in an elimination game.

“We’ll see what happens,” Wares said. “We’re going in playing well and obviously we hope the bats keep going like they have been. That’s making a big difference.”

2008 Iowa Conference Softball Tournament
May 1-3, Lynes Field, Wartburg College, Waverly
Seeds
#1 Wartburg (26-6, 15-1)
#2 Simpson (28-8, 13-3)
#3 Coe (28-12, 11-5)
#4 Luther (27-10, 10-6)
#5 Central (21-14, 8-8)
#6 Cornell (18-15, 7-9)           

Game  Teams                                              Time
1          #4 Luther vs. #5 Central--Thursday, 10 a.m.
2          #3 Coe vs. #6 Cornell--Thursday, noon
3          #1 Wartburg vs. Game 1 winner--Thursday, 2 p.m.
4          #2 Simpson vs. Game 2 winner--Thursday, 4 p.m.
5          Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser-- Friday, 10 a.m.
6          Game 1 loser vs. Game 4 loser-- Friday, noon
7          Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner--Friday, 2 p.m.
8          Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner--Friday, 4 p.m.
9          Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 winner--Saturday, 10 a.m.
10        Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner--Saturday, noon
11        Game 10 winner vs. Game 10 loser--Saturday, 2 p.m.
(if necessary)