Ryann Engholm April 22, 2009

Champions! Central clinches title tie

DUBUQUE—The Dutch are back.  

A 6-2, 10-0 (five inn.) sweep of Loras College Wednesday, assures No. 4 Central College at least a share of its 10th Iowa Conference softball championship and its first since 2004. The Dutch wrap up the league slate with a 13-3 record. Second-place Wartburg College, ranked No. 12, is 11-3 and can still tie for the title but must sweep No. 23 Luther College at Decorah Saturday.

Regardless of Saturday’s results, Central will play host to the conference tournament April 30-May 2 and carry the No. 1 seed. And, at 32-4 overall, the Dutch are a virtual lock to reach the NCAA Division III tournament field for the first time since 2006. Pairings will be announced Monday, May 4.

Wednesday at Loras the Dutch were fueled by a career day from first baseman Katie Tenboer (sophomore, Morrison, Ill.) who knocked in seven runs. In the nightcap she had a single and double and belted her second homer of the season.

“This is about the time that Katie really started hitting well last year,” coach George Wares said. “It would be nice if she could continue that the rest of the way.”

Central got it going early with two runs in the top of first inning. The Dutch made it 4-0 in the third inning as left fielder Ryann Engholm (senior, Bloomington, Minn., Thomas Jefferson HS) doubled and scored and designated player Rachel Everingham (freshman, Georgetown, Ill., Ridge Farm HS) had an RBI single.

Loras (12-14 overall, 3-9 Iowa Conference) scored two runs in the fifth inning but Central responded with single tallies in the sixth and seventh. Catcher Kyrie Hale (freshman, Lee’s Summit, Mo.) had an RBI single in the sixth.

The Dutch outhit Loras 11-5. Kylie Lythberg (sophomore, Mount Prospect, Ill.) improved to 14-2, throwing 6.2 innings of shutout ball. She allowed four hits, walking two and striking out five. Allyse Vander Plaats (junior, Apple Valley, Calif., Naperville North, Ill. HS) was charged with both Loras runs after allowing a hit and a walk.

Kiley LythbergLythberg tossed the first inning of the second game before giving way to Megan Swingen (senior, Woden, Woden-Crystal Lake HS). Swingen (14-1) pitched the final four innings, giving up just two hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Swingen has thrown 16 consecutive scoreless innings.

It was Central’s 13th shutout victory. The Dutch staff earned run average, 3.64 a year ago, is a stingy 1.18.

In addition to Tenboer’s three hits, Everingham and freshman shortstop Kelsey Wright (Gilbertville, Don Bosco HS) each had two hits in the nighcap. Wright drove in three runs. The Dutch had 12 hits overall, improving their team batting mark to .326.

Wares said the Dutch came ready to play.

“We definitely weren’t overlooking (Loras),” he said. “We knew that Loras had defeated Luther last week and the fact that we had lost earlier at Dubuque made the players aware of what could happen. Plus we knew we were playing for at least a co-championship.”

Central got contributions from numerous sources said Wares, who cited sophomore Bethany Koskamp (Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS). Koskamp came off the bench to play the final three innings of the nightcap at second base.

“Bethany came in and laid down a perfect bunt single to drive in a run,” Wares said. “Then she made two great plays defensively at the end.”

Performances like that have made the difference for the Dutch this year, after a young club posted a 24-16 mark a year ago and finished fifth in the league.

“The biggest difference is the maturity of the returning players, particularly the sophomore class,” Wares said. “And really, by the end of last year already we were playing a lot better. Our pitching is obviously light years better than it was last year and the freshmen are not only talented, but they’ve come in at a time when we have a lot of strong leadership, which has made it easier for them to feel comfortable and contribute.”

But Wares stressed that plenty of challenges remain, starting Friday when the Dutch play host to Dana College (Neb.), which took a 19-15 record into Wednesday’s action. The Vikings are coached by Marcy Roff, who served as Central’s pitching coach from 2002-03.

“We’re excited about winning a share of the conference title but we’ve got our sights set on things beyond the conference tournament,” Wares said.

Central tops regional rankings—The NCAA’s Division III regional rankings are out and Central is rated No. 1 in the Midwest Region. The Dutch are 28-4 in in-region games.

Midwest Region rankings with overall record, in-region record
1. Central 32-4 28-4
2. Wartburg 31-3 18-2
3. St. Thomas (Minnesota) 31-3 27-2
4. Washington U. in St. Louis 23-8 18-6
5. Coe 26-10 16-8
6. Gustavus Adolphus 27-3 22-3
7. Luther 27-5 24-5
8. Simpson 25-15 20-9