WAVERLY, Iowa—The Wartburg softball team (11-11 overall, 1-1 American Rivers) split its doubleheader with No. 17 Central (20-4, 1-1) Friday. The Knights won the opener 9-4 and the Dutch won the finale 15-2 in six innings. This was the third ranked team Wartburg had faced this season.
Game one
- Central jumped to a 3-0 lead after the first and added one in the second to make it 4-0.
- The Orange and Black used a three-run inning of their own in the third to slice the margin to one.
- Wartburg broke out the bats in the fifth inning as it tallied six runs on as many hits. That inning included a solo leadoff homer by Sydney Fellows and a three-run double by pinch hitter Kailey Maksim to claim the 9-4 lead.
- Fellows went 3-4 with two runs and one RBI
- Lauren Frerichs and Ella Link both went 2-3
- First win over a top 25 opponent this season
Game two
- A similar story played out to start the second game as the Dutch jumped to a 3-0 lead after the second innings
- Central plated four in the third to extend its margin
- Wartburg got on the board in the fourth on a two-run homer by Link
- The Dutch tallied eight in the sixth to make it 15-2
- In the bottom of the frame, Reegan Deputy hit a leadoff double and later moved to third on Link's single with two outs
- She was unfortunately left stranded as the next batter grounded out for the run-rule victory by Central
- Link was 2-3 with two RBIs
Next games
Wartburg takes to the road for a doubleheader Tuesday at Dubuque at 2 p.m.