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May 2, 2008Tenboer blasts extend Central's season
WAVERLY—Displaying some newly discovered power, third baseman Katie Tenboer (freshman, Morrison, Ill.) blasted two home runs to extend Central College’s softball season with a 9-4 victory over 25th-ranked Simpson College in the Iowa Conference tournament Friday.
That ended the regular season for Simpson (28-10) while Central (24-15) takes on Luther College again in an elimination game Saturday at 10 a.m., the teams’ fourth meeting in eight days. The contest was originally slated for 4 p.m. Friday but a 2-hour rain delay pushed back the schedule. Top-seeded Wartburg College and Coe College met later Friday in a winner’s bracket game. The loser will take on the Central-Luther winner at noon Saturday, with the Wartburg-Coe winner awaiting at 2 p.m. Luther rallied for a 6-4 victory over Central in the opening game of the six-team tourney Thursday. Central split a doubleheader with the Norse at Decorah last Saturday, falling 7-4 but winning 9-3.
Tenboer, who had never hit a home run in high school or college competition prior to doing so in a doubleheader sweep at Augustana College (Ill.) Monday night, lined a three-run shot over the left-field fence in the top of the first inning Friday. She then plated Central’s final run of the contest, capping a three-run sixth inning with a solo shot to center field. Tenboer had three hits in the game. After seeing her average hover around the .200 mark most of the season, she’s now up to .283 with 27 RBIs.
“Katie is really helping us,” coach George Wares said. “To all of a sudden get some extra punch out of a kid that wasn’t hitting much is giving us a real lift.”
First baseman Ryann Engholm (junior, Bloomington, Minn., Thomas Jefferson HS) had a pair of run-scoring singles while third baseman Afton Nelson (sophomore, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS) had two hits and scored three runs. Nelson’s batting average continued its recent ascent. She’s hitting .315 with 29 RBIs.
Catcher Kelly Harris (senior, LeClaire, Pleasant Valley HS) doubled, was hit by a pitch and scored two runs. Her double let her break the school career total bases record with 279, one more than Donell Hotze (1997-2000). She’s broken the school season runs record with 49 and has moved into a tie for fourth in season hits (54). Harris also has the school career runs scored record (145) and is fifth in career hits (183).
Amy Zellmer (senior, North Mankato, Minn., Loyola HS) made just her fourth start of the season. She gave up two unearned runs before departing with one out in the third inning. Tenboer faced two hitters before Zellmer returned, getting a bases-loaded strikeout and allowing a run-scoring hit before the Dutch ended the threat by throwing out a runner at the plate. Zellmer threw 3.1 innings on the day, giving up five hits, striking out two and walking none.
“Amy did what she needed to do for us, especially when she re-entered the game,” Wares said. “She really got us out of a pretty tough situation.”
Kiley Lythberg (freshman, Mount Prospect, Ill.) got the win, improving to 10-8. She threw the final 3.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits with two strikeouts and no walks.
The Dutch broke the game open with two runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth. But with two outs in the top of the seventh, the game was delayed for nearly 2 hours because of rain. It took just eight minutes to complete the contest once play resumed as Lythberg set down the side in order in the bottom of the seventh, getting two strikeouts.
“That was probably as good as Kiley has looked all year,” Wares said.
The fifth-seeded Dutch entered the day facing elimination and the ending of the season, but Wares said his young club remained focused.
“There’s always the fear that they’ll be trying too hard in a game like this, but I think the tone we set with three runs in the top of the first relaxed us,” he said. “Even the freshmen are taking the approach that we just want to keep playing. And as long as we keep winning, we’ll keep playing. We’re not thinking too far ahead right now, we’re only thinking about Luther. We’ll just go play and see what happens.”