Grinnell softball team set for historic NCAA Division III Tournament opener

Gallery: (5-17-2023) NCAA Softball Tourney Sendoff

PELLA, Iowa - Grinnell College's softball team may be new to the NCAA Division III Tournament, but the Pioneers' first-round foe is quite familiar.

Grinnell (29-12) takes on host Central College (31-9) in Thursday's first-round contest in Pella at 4:30 p.m.

Those teams met in Pella not even two months ago, with Central taking advantage of six Grinnell errors to win the opener 15-1. The second game was a different story, with the Dutch needing a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning to rally for a 6-5 victory.

Grinnell has accumulated a .336 batting average this season, being led by Taylor Durak '24 (.422/7 homers/37 RBIs), Kambria Anson '24 (.397/16 RBIs), Samantha Chu '24 (.388/36 RBIs), Amanda Ramirez '23 (.384/29 RBIs), Emma DiGiacomo-Zahller '24 (.328/15 RBIs) and Alexa Okada '24 (.315/15 RBIs).

The Pioneers have also been among the top teams in the nation in fielding percentage at .973. Top pitchers include Christin Hartman '24 (15-6/2.69 ERA/65 strikeouts) and Kathryn Vermeulen '24 (10-4/3.70 ERA/62 strikeouts).

Central is hitting .309 on the season. Top hitters are Haley Bach (.410/23 RBIs) Emma Johnson (.389/17 RBIs), Franie Burnett (.341/45 RBIs), Megan Stuhr (.325/33 RBIs) and Megan Doty (.302/19 RBIs).

Three pitchers have 21 appearances or more this season. They include Sydni Huisman (15-4/2.09 ERA/65 strikeouts), Emma Beck (10-3/2.29 ERA/99 strikeouts) and Morgan Schaben (5-2/2.48 ERA/53 strikeouts).

Bethel University of Minnesota (33-3) meets the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (25-17) in the other first-round game Thursday. The first pitch is at 2 p.m.

The double-elimination event continues Friday and concludes Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

#26 Kambria Anson: OF; 5' 6"; Junior; L/R

#88 Samantha Chu: IF; 5' 5"; Junior; R/R

#3 Emma DiGiacomo-Zahller: UT; 5' 6"; Junior; R/R

#23 Taylor Durak: OF; 5' 10"; Junior; R/R

#15 Christin Hartman: P; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#2 Alexa Okada: IF; 5' 3"; Junior; L/R

#10 Amanda Ramirez: IF; 5' 6"; Senior; R/R

#11 Kathryn Vermeulen: P/OF; 5' 5"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#26 Kambria Anson
: 5' 6"; Junior; L/R
: OF

#88 Samantha Chu
: 5' 5"; Junior; R/R
: IF

#3 Emma DiGiacomo-Zahller
: 5' 6"; Junior; R/R
: UT

#23 Taylor Durak
: 5' 10"; Junior; R/R
: OF

#15 Christin Hartman
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: P

#2 Alexa Okada
: 5' 3"; Junior; L/R
: IF

#10 Amanda Ramirez
: 5' 6"; Senior; R/R
: IF

#11 Kathryn Vermeulen
: 5' 5"; Junior; R/R
: P/OF