Coe Softball

Woodruff, Timmons win IIAC honors

Maddison Woodruff of Coe College has been named the Pitcher of the Year in the Iowa Conference, the league announced Monday.

Woodruff has compiled a 20-2 record and 1.90 ERA this season, with 157 strikeouts and three shutouts.

Bob Timmons of Coe has been named the Coach of the Year for the fifth time after leading the Kohawks to the NCAA tournament with a 35-8 record. He ranks No.2 all-time on the NCAA Division III winning list with a 926-364 record.

The Kohawks garnered six spots on the all-conference teams. Woodruff and outfielder Nicole Gentile were named to the first team. Catcher Abby Flannagan, pitcher Arran Weeces, outfielder Danielle Schlotterbeck and outfielder Brianna Gardner were named to the second.

Flannagan was named all-conference for the fourth straight year.

Coe won the regular-season title in the Iowa Conference and finished second in the league tournament.

Coe hosting NCAA softball regional

The ninth-ranked Coe College softball team has been selected to host a regional for the NCAA Division III Championships this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Kohawks earned an at-large berth into the field of 62 teams.

The three teams Coe will welcome to Clarke Field are Augustana (Ill.), St. Scholastica (Minn.) and St. Thomas (Minn).

Augustana, the runnerup in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin, enters play ranked 19th by the NFCA and boasting a 33-11 record.

St. Scholastica, winner of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, is 27-10 and currently riding a 21-game winning streak.

St. Thomas, ranked 15th by the NFCA with a 36-5 record, comes into regional play as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champs and has won 20 consecutive games.

The Kohawks are scheduled to play St. Scholastica in their first game Friday, with a starting time to be announced. The winner of that matchup will play the winner of the Augustana-St. Thomas game.

The winner of this four-team region will face the winner of the Pella Region, which features Central, North Central (Ill.), Washington-St.Louis and Luther in a Super Regional.

This is the 14th appearance in the NCAA Regionals for Coe and it is the ninth in the last 10 years. During that stretch, the Kohawks have won two regional championships, advancing to the NCAA College World Series in 2006 and 2009.

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Luther out-slugs Coe for IIAC title

Luther beat Coe Sunday afternoon at Clark Field for the second time in two days to claim the Iowa Conference softball tournament championship.

But while Saturday’s 2-0 extra inning win was a pitcher’s duel, the Norse out-pounded the Kohawks, 15-11, in a slugfest of a tourney finale.

The two teams combined for 30 hits with five home runs.

“These are two upper echelon teams,” said Coe Coach Bob Timmons afterward. “This year we’ve had several close games.

“But this one was more like a slow-pitch score.”

Win or lose, both teams were assured of being among the squads that start regional play in the NCAA Division III tournament this week. Pairings are to be announced Monday.

Coe is currently ranked ninth in the nation, while Luther is at No.11.

Luther (30-6) scored in every inning but the last one and broke the game open with a seven-run rally in the fourth.

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Coe softball team nipped by Luther

The Coe College softball team will have to win three straight games at Clark Field Sunday to capture the Iowa Conference Tournament, but there's a nice prize waiting for them even if they don't.

The ninth-ranked Kohawks have a 34-7 overall record and are considered a lock for an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III national tournament even if they do not get the league's automatic berth as the tournament champion.

Alise Miller broke up a pitcher's duel in the top of the eighth inning Saturday afternoon with a two-run homer to give 11th-ranked Luther a 2-0 victory over Coe in the winners bracket finals.

Arran Weeces of Coe and Becca Girvan of Luther matched goose-eggs for the first seven innings Saturday, sending the contest into extra innings.

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