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April 15, 2009Dutch hurlers shut down Buena Vista
PELLA—Megan Swingen (senior, Woden, Woden-Crystal Lake HS) and Allyse Vander Plaats (junior, Apple Valley, Calif., Naperville North, Ill. HS) tossed a combined five-inning no-hitter as the No. 5 Central College softball team subdued Buena Vista Univ. 5-1 and 8-0 Wednesday.
The Dutch pitchers allowed just three hits on the day. Kiley Lythberg (sophomore, Mount Prospect, Ill.) yielded one hit in 6.2 innings in the opener while reliever Katie Tenboer (sophomore, Morrison, Ill.) gave up two hits and an unearned run. Lythberg (11-2) struck out nine and walked none.
Swingen (11-1) struck out three and walked one in throwing three shutout innings in the nightcap. Vander Plaats gave up only a walk in the final two innings. Buena Vista dropped to 6-20 overall and 0-8 in the Iowa Conference.
Central (26-4 overall, 9-3 conference) misfired offensively in the early going, stranding five runners in the first three innings. But the Dutch got a two-run single by catcher Kyrie Hale (freshman, Lee’s Summit, Mo.) in a three-run fourth inning and added two runs in the sixth. Right fielder Ryann Engholm (senior, Bloomington, Minn., Thomas Jefferson HS) had an RBI single, followed by a double from freshman second baseman Angela Davis (West Des Moines, Valley HS) that led to another tally. Davis had three hits in the game.
Engholm’s two-run homer sparked a seven-run third inning in the nightcap. It was her second home run of the season and the eighth of her career, moving her into a tie for fifth place on Central’s all-time list. The Dutch also got a two-run pinch-hit single from Trysh Shimak (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) and run-scoring hits from left fielder Hannah Weindruch (senior, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS) and designated player Rachael Everingham (freshman, Georgetown, Ill., Ridge Farm HS).
“We needed an inning like that,” coach George Wares said. “It wasn’t just Ryann’s home run. We got some nice line-drive and ground-ball hits which is what we have to have.”
Central had 20 hits on the day as coach George Wares tinkered with the batting order, trying Engholm in the leadoff spot and making some other adjustments.
“Even though everything looks good as far as our record, we’re just looking at ways to get better,” he said.
Wednesday’s games kicked off another frantic stretch of action. Central is home again Thursday for a non-conference doubleheader against Augustana College (Ill.) at 3 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. The Vikings are 20-6 and have been off for the past six days.
“Augustana is solid,” Wares said. “They’re in the hunt for the post-season and they’ll be a tough challenge. They have good pitching and they run the bases a lot more than anybody we’ve played so far.”
The Vikings have stolen 59 bases in 65 attempts and have three players hitting .425 or better. Central scored an 8-4, 9-0 doubleheader sweep over Augustana at Rock Island, Ill. last year and leads the all-time series 8-0.