The Iowa Conference softball race heads into the final week with four teams still in the title hunt. Wartburg controls its own destiny. The Knights are 10-2 and close out with doubleheaders against Dubuque and Luther. Central is 11-3 and has won seven straight games.
Central coach George Wares says the pitching and defense is solid and he says they have four freshmen in the lineup that are playing well and are a surprise. The Dutch close out the regular season on Tuesday against a Loras team that upended third place Luther over the weekend. He says that win over Luther opened up their eyes, and there’s not chance of looking beyond them.
Wares says there is a lot to play for. The regular season champ will play host to the conference tournament.
Luther is tied for third with Coe at 8-4 and coach Renae Hartl is not surprised the race has been this competitive. She says they are playing in the best conference in the nation in terms of having three or four teams always vying for the conference title and a chance to make the tournament.
Luther visits Buena Vista on Tuesday but Hartl says her team will not get caught looking ahead to this weekend’s showdown with Wartburg.
Hartl says they would prefer to stay at home for the conference tournament.