It’s finally starting to feel like baseball weather.
As the temperature has soared into the 90s this week, the Ankeny Centennial baseball team continues to prepare for its season opener. The Jaguars will host a non-conference game against Williamsburg on Tuesday.
“So far the practices have been going well,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey, whose team is fourth in Class 4A in the preseason rankings from the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. “The weather hasn’t been the best, but we’ve still been able to be on the field most days. The players worked extremely hard since January during open gyms, and that has transferred into successful practices this May.”
Centennial posted an 18-18 record last year and placed second in the CIML Iowa Conference with a 12-7 mark. Several starters are back from that team, led by junior third baseman and pitcher Kyle Miller.
Miller batted .347 with two home runs, eight doubles and 29 RBIs as a sophomore. On the mound, he posted a 4-3 record with a 3.44 ERA.
Miller was named to the Iowa Conference first team at an infield position. He was selected to a utility spot on the all-district second team.
Senior pitcher and first baseman Lincoln Lacey is also back. The lefthander was a second-team all-conference pick in 2021.
Lacey went 2-4 with a 2.03 ERA. At the plate, he batted .425 with one homer and 10 RBIs.
Senior Damin Churchman, junior Easton Miller and sophomore Joey Oakie are among the other returnees. They each received all-conference honorable mention a year ago, when they all contributed with their arms as well as their bats.
Churchman, a shortstop, batted .297 with three homers, five triples, nine doubles and 17 RBIs. As a pitcher, he went 3-4 with a 3.84 ERA and a team-high 38 strikeouts.
Miller, an outfielder, batted .290 with one homer and 21 RBIs. He went 3-1 on the mound with a 6.50 ERA.
Oakie, a third baseman, batted .250 with two homers, four triples, five doubles and 17 RBIs. As a pitcher, the Iowa recruit went 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA.
“Pitching should be a strength, as well as positional and pitching depth,” Hey said. “We have had very good senior leadership so far from such players as Ian McGhiey, Lincoln Lacey, Gabe Murphy, Gavin Rumelhart, Gavin Wiess, Adrion Brown, and several others. We will be a relatively young team with six sophomores currently on the varsity team.”
Junior outfielder Nick Severson and sophomore shortstop Lucas Bruhl are the team’s other returning starters. Severson batted .205 with two homers and 14 RBIs last season, while Bruhl was primarily a defensive starter.
McGhiey, a first baseman, is among the players who could take on a larger role this season. He batted .265 with five doubles and nine RBIs a year ago.
Murphy, an infielder, appeared in 24 games as a junior. He is the team’s only two-time letterwinner.
“I think this team has the potential to be competitive every night,” Hey said. “We will need the younger players and players without a lot of varsity experience to step up and play with confidence. We also have to be able to hit the ball consistently and make adjustments as the season goes on.
“We need to stay healthy as well. We play in the most competitive conference in the state, so we need to be consistent in our approach to the games,” he added.
