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PELLA, Iowa - Grinnell College's softball team may have come up on the short end of the scoreboard in its first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament game Thursday, but the Pioneers certainly made their presence known.

Grinnell matched host Central College in hits and led a good chunk of the game before the 22nd-ranked Dutch rallied for a 3-2 victory.

Alexa Okada '24 had two of Grinnell's four hits as well as the team's lone RBI. Samantha Chu '24 added a double, tying a school season mark with 35, and Emma Nelson '23 a single.

Kathryn Vermeulen '24 and Christin Hartman '24 were sharp in a combined pitching effort for Grinnell (29-13).After going down in order in the first inning, the Pioneers made some noise in the second. Taylor Durkak '24 led off with a walk and, after two strikeouts, Lizzy Vermeulen '24 was hit by a pitch. Okada followed with an RBI single through the right side to score Durak. An error on the relay throw also allowed Vermeulen to score, making it 2-0.

Central (32-9) answered with one run in the bottom of the second and scored twice in the fourth, making the lead hold up the rest of the way.

Kathryn Vermeuelen was tagged with the tough-luck loss, striking out one on two hits in 3.1 innings. Hartman fanned two batters and issued two hits the rest of the way.

The Pioneers established three new school records during the game - Amanda Ramirez '23 for fielding assists in a season (111) and team season marks for walks (142) and putouts (774).

Grinnell meets the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a 2-0 loser to Bethel University, in an elimination game at 1:30 p.m. Friday. That contest will follow the Bethel-Central matchup.