PELLA, IOWA  – There's normal pitchers, and then there's Luther College softball's Kendra Cooper (Lansing, Iowa / Kee). The Norse ace went the distance not once, but twice Wednesday afternoon, helping Luther secure a key American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) sweep of Central College. The Norse upended the nationally ranked Dutch 6-2 in game one, before a brilliant performance in the circle by Cooper led Luther to a 1-0 shutout in game two. With the sweep, the Norse are now 30-6 overall and 10-3 in A-R-C play. 

GAME ONE: (RV)  LUTHER (6) vs. #17 CENTRAL (2)
If game one was supposed to be a pitcher's duel, Luther did not get the memo, as the Norse went ahead and scored five runs in the first three innings. After a 1-2-3 first, Luther went ahead and scored three runs in the top of the second, as a lead off single by Leah Crown (Plato, Minn. / Central) set the tone with a lead off single before being bunted to second from Riley Sauser (Ely, Iowa / Cedar Rapids Prairie). With a runner on second and one out, Sydney Schultz (Raymond, Iowa / Columbus Catholic) stayed hot and laced a single into left, allowing Crown to easily score from second for the 1-0 lead. 

The Norse weren't done scoring in the top of the second, as Raven Allen (Birmingham, Ala. / McAdory) drew a one-out walk before another single by Chloe Wagner (Blair, Wis. / Blair-Taylor) loaded the bases for Katie Brennan (Lansing, Iowa / Kee). The senior did her job, hitting a grounder to the right side of the infield to score Schultz and make it a 2-0 game. With two outs and a base open, the Dutch opted to walk Belle Berg (Chatfield, Minn. / Chatfield), and Anna Forari (Bettendorf, Iowa / Bettendorf) made them pay for the decision. The senior hit a two-out single, scoring Allen to extend Luther's lead to 3-0. 

Kendra Cooper (Lansing, Iowa / Kee) mowed down Central's line up in the bottom of the inning, bringing Abby Spore (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Kennedy) to the plate to open the third. The junior catcher lined a double to the right field fence, putting a runner on second with zero outs. Though head coach Renae Hartl opted to put in a pinch runner for Spore, the move wasn't necessary, as Crown eked a ball over the left field fence to give the Norse a 5-0 advantage. 

Central answered by scoring one in the bottom of the fourth, but Luther had the perfect response. Another leadoff double by Spore resulted in another Norse run, as they extended their lead to 6-1 in the top of the fifth. The Dutch then threatened in both the fifth and sixth, putting the leadoff runner on in both innings. Cooper was able to hold Central at bay in the fifth, but the Dutch put one across in the bottom of the sixth, hitting three straight singles off Cooper to cut the lead to 6-2. 

There was no such rally in the bottom of the seventh, as Cooper was, literally untouchable. The fifth year senior sent the Dutch 8-9-1 batters down in order, securing Luther's 6-2 win with her 11th strikeout of the day. 

GAME TWO:  (RV) LUTHER (1) vs. #17 CENTRAL (0)
What was expected in game one happened in game two, as Cooper and Emma Beck went at it in the circle. The two aces held their opponents respective line ups to no hits through the first four innings, though it was the Norse who broke Beck first, as Forari led off the fourth with a double to give Luther a runner in scoring position with no outs on the board. 

Forari's pinch runner Allison Martinez (Brighton, Colo. / Brighton) would only advance to third base, as two fly outs and a groundout ended the Norse threat in the top of the fourth. Central, meanwhile, worked to figure out Cooper in the bottom of the inning. The Dutch did draw a two out walk, but Cooper sufficiently ended the inning, getting Central's four hitter to line out to Crown to end the threat. 

Luther again attacked Beck to open the fifth, as Schultz laced a double to center field to once again give the Norse a runner in scoring position with no outs. Once again, Luther was unable to capitalize on the offensive opportunity, as Schultz was stranded at second after back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning. Cooper, meanwhile, continued to plow through the Dutch line up, pitching a one-two-three inning in the bottom of the fifth to send the top of the Norse line up back to the plate. 

Luther was finally able to break the scoreless tie in the top of the sixth, as the Norse scored one run on two hits and a Central error to take a 1-0 lead. Berg and Forari led off the inning with back-to-back hits before the Dutch opted to intentionally walk Spore to load the bases with no outs. Crown made Central pay on the very next pitch, as she hit a line out to the right fielder for the first out of the game. However, in her haste to get Berg out at home, the right fielder overthrew the cut at first, allowing the speedy shortstop to score the first run of the game with ease. 

Unfortunately, Luther was unable to score additional runs in the top of the sixth, and the Dutch responded with their first hit of the game in the bottom of the inning. Cooper handled the base runner with ease, striking out Mariah Parton to end Central's threat. Things got dicey, though, in the bottom of the seventh, as the Dutch managed to open the inning with a weak single through the right side to put a runner on first with no outs. 

With the heart of Central's line up due at the plate, Spore called time to game plan with Cooper. The fifth year senior got the very next batter to fly out to right field before surrendering another single to Megan Doty. In the end, it was no harm, no foul for Cooper and Co., as the ace took care of the next two batters herself to secure the 1-0 win for the Norse. 

TOP NORSE

• Leah Crown (Plato, Minn. / Central) led Luther's offensive charge in game one, going 2-4 at the plate with two runs and two RBI. Abby Spore (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Kennedy) also went 2-4 and scored one run for the Norse. 
• In addition to going 1-3 with two runs and three RBI in game one, Leah Crown (Plato, Minn. / Central) was 3-4 in game two with two RBI. Abby Spore (Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Kennedy) went 3-3 at the plate in game two, while Chloe Wagner (Blair, Wis. / Blair-Taylor) and Raven Allen (Birmingham, Ala. / McAdory) both went 3-4 with multiple RBIs. 
• Kendra Cooper (Lansing, Iowa / Kee) dazzled in the circle for Luther, pitching two complete games to improve to 19-3 this season. The ace went the distance in both games, holding the offensive minded Dutch to two runs and seven hits in 14 innings of play. She struck out 11 in game one and three in game two, bringing her career total to 486. 

NOTEABLES
Thanks to the sweep, Luther now sits in a tie with Coe for first in the A-R-C standings. With a Kohawk loss on Friday, the Norse would have a chance to win the conference title outright with a sweep of Wartburg on Saturday. 

UP NEXT
The next doubleheader may be Luther's biggest of the 2023 season, as they close out the A-R-C schedule with a home series against the Knights. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Betty A. Hoff Field in Decorah, Iowa.