Sorensen, heads up defense help Storm split with No. 11 Central

PELLA, Iowa - Keri Sorensen (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) smacked her third home run of the season and the Simpson defense turned three double plays as the No. 21 Storm defeated No. 11 Central in game two of Saturday afternoon's doubleheader at Kuyper Athletic Complex.

Central won game one 3-2, but the Storm (27-8, 12-2 IIAC) held on to a two-game lead over the Dutch (22-9, 8-4) in the Iowa Conference Standings.

Sorensen gave Simpson an early 2-0 lead in game two with her two-run homer in the top of the first inning off Central starter Kiley Lythberg (15-5).

An RBI single by Amanda Enochs (Des Moines, Iowa/East) and a run-scoring double by Tieryn Potratz (Fort Dodge, Iowa/Fort Dodge) in the fifth extended Simpson's lead to 4-2.

The Simpson defense helped out starter Whitney Oviatt (Carnation, Wash./Cedarcrest), using double plays to escape two-on, one-out jams in the second and sixth innings. In the sixth, Central had runners at second and third with one out and the tying runner on second before an unconventional 3-5 doubleplay got the Storm out of the inning.

In the inning, Holly Von Fumetti grounded a swinging but toward Potratz at first. The freshman charged the ball and tagged out Von Fumetti before alertly firing to third, where the runner was caught off the bag. Third baseman Jessica Barkley (Mitchellville, Iowa/Southeast Polk) made the tag as Simpson preserved the two-run edge.

Oviatt (18-5) earned the win, allowing eight hits and two runs in seven innings. She tossed both games, taking the loss in the opener.

Simpson's infield turned six double plays on the day, as Central left a total of 16 runners on the basepaths.

Trailing 2-1 in the opener, Kortney Proctor (Wilton, Iowa/Wilton) knotted the game with a solo blast in the top of the seventh. But Central's Angela Davis hit a walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the inning to give Central the 3-2 win.

Simpson's final regular season contest of the season comes next weekend when it hosts Wartburg in a doubleheader at Simpson Softball Complex. You can listen as the Storm try to wrap up a reguar season conference title by visiting www.kedb.fm.