Saturday was a good day for the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial baseball teams as both squads won a pair of games in the Tim Heggen Invitational at Ankeny.
The Hawks rolled to a 9-1 victory over North Polk, the No. 10 team in Class 3A. They later defeated Davenport North, 5-4, in nine innings to extend their winning streak to six games.
The Jaguars also defeated Davenport North, 4-0. They earlier posted a 7-4 triumph over Burlington.
Centennial (7-1) got two outstanding pitching performances from Alex Greiner and Logan Neils. Greiner (1-0) tossed a five-hitter and had six strikeouts against Burlington, then Neils (1-0) followed with a one-hit gem against Davenport North.
Neils threw 86 pitches en route to the shutout. He walked one and had three strikeouts.
Cory Prange homered and drove in three runs to support Neils’ effort on the mound. Josh Meador had an RBI double, while Ryan Vermeer went 2-for-3.
Greyson Jennings had two RBIs in the win over Burlington. Kaden Bollwinkel walked twice, stole two bases, scored two runs and knocked in another.
Drake DeAngelo and Keaton Gray each went 2-for-4 and scored a run. DeAngelo had a double for the Jaguars’ lone extra-base hit.
Unlike Centennial, Ankeny (6-3) dipped far into its bullpen to get through the day. The Hawks used three pitchers against North Polk and five more against Davenport North.
Sophomore Bryce Rinderknecht made an appearance in both games. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings against North Polk, then later had five strikeouts while allowing only one unearned run in 2 2/3 innings against Davenport North.
Travis Geary (1-0) hurled two scoreless innings to earn the win in the nightcap. He combined with Brody Brecht, Weston Faulk, Austin Probasco and Rinderknecht on a four-hitter.
Brecht, a freshman, enjoyed a huge day at the plate for the Hawks. He went 2-for-4 with two doubles against Davenport North after earlier going 3-for-5 with a double and one RBI against North Polk.
Henri Harpenau and Cameron Rinker each went 2-for-3 and drove in a run in the nightcap. One of Harpenau’s hits was a double.
Chris Spear (1-0) was the winning pitcher against North Polk. He pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings and had four strikeouts.
Jayden Maifeld went 2-for-4 with a triple. He scored two runs and drove in another.
Seth Harpenau went 2-for-3 and scored twice. Rinker tripled and scored a run, while Evan Lyons added two RBIs.
Both Ankeny and Centennial have a huge week ahead, including Wednesday’s doubleheader between the two squads at Ankeny. The Hawks will also play a twinbill at ninth-ranked Southeast Polk on Monday, while the Jaguars will travel to Valley.