Hannah Weindruch April 30, 2009

Luther knocks off top-seeded Central

PELLA—Luther College extended its Iowa Conference softball tournament mastery over Central College 5-2 Friday.  

It was Luther’s third straight tournament victory over the No.-2 rated Dutch. The fourth-seeded Norse (32-7) stymied Central twice in last year’s league tourney.

Top-seeded Central (34-5) comes back Friday at 10 a.m. in the double-elimination tournament, meeting sixth-seeded Univ. of Dubuque at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field. The Spartans (12-25) fell to third-seeded Coe College 8-0 in six innings.

The fourth-seeded Norse 32-7 earlier outlasted Simpson College 7-5 and advance to a 2 p.m. contest against the winner of Thursday’s final game between second-seeded Wartburg College and Coe.

Kyrie HaleA three-run first-inning home run by Luther first baseman Danielle Armbruster was the difference. Dutch hurler Kylie Lythberg (sophomore, Mount Prospect, Ill.) was on the brink of working out of a two-on, no-outs jam, retiring two hitters before Armbruster’s shot.

Central also struggled defensively, committing four errors. The Dutch outhit Luther 7-6 but stranded 11 runners. Norse pitcher Katie Lambert walked seven batters but struck out 12.

“She let some people on but then she strikes people out,” coach George Wares said. “That’s probably the most strikeouts we’ve had all year. She pitched well.”

A pinch-hit single by Trysh Shimak (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) drove in Central’s first run in the second inning. Shortstop Kelsey Wright (freshman, Gilbertville, Don Bosco HS) extended her school-record stolen base streak to 19 and darted home on a fourth-inning bunt single by left fielder Hannah Weindruch (senior, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS). It was Central’s 100th stolen base of the season while allowing just nine.

But the Dutch left the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings and Luther picked up a pair of unearned runs in its half of the fifth. Lambert then struck out five of the last six batters she faced to close the door.

Lythberg (15-3) was charged with three earned runs on five hits, walking two and striking out three in 4.1 innings. Megan Swingen (senior, Woden, Woden-Crystal Lake HS) pitched the final 2.2 innings, allowing one hit with no walks and three strikeouts.

“I’ve praised our pitchers all year but they made a couple critical mistakes,” Wares said. “The upside is we battled back from that and had chances to win.”

Wares said despite Central’s lofty ranking, there’s little that separates the top conference teams.

“There’s so much parity in the Iowa Conference and in the country,” he said. “And I don’t think there’s any team in the country that can leave 11 runners on and make four errors and still win against an opponent like this.”