CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Four American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) softball teams were in action today for day two of NCAA Division III Regional play. The conference saw the nationally ranked No. 22 Central Dutch, No. 21 Coe Kohawks, and the Wartburg Knights advance to the regional championship while the No. 25 Luther Norse bows out of the tournament. Recaps from day two of regional play are listed below.
Central (IA) Regional
The Central College Dutch (33-10) went 1-1 on the day in two closely contested games. The Dutch dropped the first game of the day to No. 11-ranked Bethel University (35-3) by a score of 4-3. Both teams scored a run in the seventh inning to send the game to extra innings before Bethel capitalized and walked off the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Dutch were back on the field after a game break for a second match-up with Grinnell in as many days. It was another one run game for the Dutch as they pulled off a 2-1 victory to advance to the regional championship game on Saturday.
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| Central |
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0 |
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5 |
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| Bethel |
0 |
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2 |
0 |
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0 |
1 |
4 |
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L: Morgan Schaben (5-3)
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| Central |
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10 |
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| Grinnell |
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W: Sydni Huisman
No. 22 Central will face No. 11-ranked Bethel in the regional championship. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. (Noon) tomorrow, Saturday, May 20
th at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex softball field. The Dutch will need two wins over the Royals tomorrow to earn a trip to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Central (IA) Regional) – All times in Central
Thursday, May 18th
Game 1: UW-La Crosse, 0 vs. No. 11 Bethel, 2
Game 2: No. 22 Central, 3 vs. Grinnell, 2
Friday, May 19th
Game 3: No. 11 Bethel, 4 vs. No. 22 Central, 3 (9 inn.)
Game 4: UW-La Crosse, 4 vs. Grinnell, 6
Game 5: Grinnell, 1 vs. No. 22 Central, 2
Saturday, May 20th
Game 6: No. 11 Bethel vs. No. 22 Central • 12 p.m. (Noon)
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 • 2:30 p.m. (If Necessary)
UW-Whitewater Regional
The Coe College Kohawks (33-9) went 1-1 on the day to advance to the regional championship in Whitewater, Wisconsin. The Kohawks dropped the first game of the day to the hosts, UW-Whitewater (28-11) by a score of 3-2. Coe was back on the field after a game break for a second match-up with Transylvania in as many days. The Kohawks were off to a hot start as they took a 2-0 lead after two innings. Giving up one run in the bottom of the fourth, the Kohawks came to bat in the fifth where they put up four runs to extend their lead to 6-1. The Pioneers got another run in the bottom of the sixth inning and two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but that wasn’t enough as the Kohawks advanced to the regional championship with a 6-4 victory.
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| UW-Whitewater |
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7 |
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| Coe |
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L: Ellie Thurow (13-4)
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| Coe |
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| Transylvania |
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11 |
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The No. 21 Coe Kohawks will face the hosts UW-Whitewater in the regional championship. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, May 20
th on the campus of UW-Whitewater. The Kohawks will need two wins over the Warhawks tomorrow to earn a trip to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Wisconsin-Whitewater Regional) – All times in Central
Thursday, May 18th
Game 1: No. 21 Coe, 6 vs. No. 17 Transylvania, 5 (9 inn.)
Game 2: UW-Whitewater, 2 vs. Spalding, 1
Friday, May 19th
Game 3: No. 21 Coe, 2 vs. UW-Whitewater, 3
Game 4: No. 17 Transylvania, 7 vs. Spalding, 6
Game 5: No. 17 Transylvania, 4 vs. No. 21 Coe, 6
Saturday, May 20th
Game 6: UW-Whitewater vs. No. 21 Coe • 11 a.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 • 1:30 p.m. (If Necessary)
UW-Oshkosh Regional
The Luther College Norse (33-10) entered day two of regional play needing to win out to advance to the super regional round. The Norse took the first game of the day against UW-Superior, 8-2 to advance in the elimination bracket of the UW-Oshkosh Regional. Facing the hosts, UW-Oshkosh in the second game of the day and for the second time this regional, the Luther Norse fell short 6-2 to end their NCAA Tournament run.
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| Luther |
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8 |
8 |
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| UW-Superior |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
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W: Kendra Cooper (22-5)
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| UW-Oshkosh |
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| Luther |
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L: Kendra Cooper (22-6)
The No. 25-ranked Luther Norse ended the year with a 33-10 record overall while posting a 12-4 mark in league play.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Wisconsin-Oshkosh Regional) – All times in Central
Thursday, May 18th
Game 1: UW-Oshkosh, 5 vs. No. 25 Luther, 4
Game 2: No. 14 Concordia Wis., 8 vs. UW-Superior, 0
Friday, May 19th
Game 3: UW-Oshkosh, 1 vs. No. 14 Concordia Wis., 9
Game 4: No. 25 Luther, 8 vs. UW-Superior, 2
Game 5: No. 25 Luther, 2 vs. UW-Oshkosh 6
Saturday, May 20th
Game 6: No. 14 Concordia Wis. vs. UW-Oshkosh • 11 a.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 • 1:30 p.m. (If Necessary)
Trine Regional
The Wartburg College Knights (25-17) went 1-1 on the day to advance to the regional championship. Both games ended in five innings due to run-rule. The Knights dropped the first game of the day to the hosts, No. 5-nationally ranked Trine (37-4) by a score of 8-0. Wartburg was back on the field after a game break for a second match-up with Millikin in as many days. The Knights were off to a hot start as they took a 2-0 lead after the first inning. They continued to add to their lead with three runs in the second, two in the third, and one in the fifth. The Knights advanced to the regional championship with an 8-0 victory in five innings.
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| Trine |
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| Wartburg |
0 |
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L: Ashley Nelson (13-9)
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| Wartburg |
2 |
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8 |
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| Millikin |
0 |
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2 |
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W: Hannah Luellen (1-3)
The Wartburg Knights will face the hosts Trine in the regional championship as the Knights look for some revenge from today’s loss. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, May 20
th on the campus of Trine University. The Knights will need two wins over the Thunder to earn their second-consecutive trip to the super regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Trine Regional) – All times in Central
Thursday, May 18th
Game 1: Wartburg, 3 vs. No. 23 Millikin, 2
Game 2: No. 5 Trine, 7 vs. Waynesburg, 0
Friday, May 19th
Game 3: Wartburg, 0 vs. No. 5 Trine, 8 (5 inn.)
Game 4: No. 23 Millikin, 3 vs. Waynesburg, 1
Game 5: No. 23 Millikin, 0 vs. Wartburg, 8 (5 inn.)
Saturday, May 20th
Game 6: No. 5 Trine vs. Wartburg • 11 a.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 • 1:30 p.m. (If Necessary)
The winners of each regional will advance to the super regionals, which will take place May 26-27 at locations to be determined. The winners of each super regional will then advance to the 2023 NCAA Division III Softball Championships at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas from June 1-7 as East Texas Baptist serves as the host site. Each round will consist of double-elimination play.
