A year ago, the Ankeny baseball team pounded many of its opponents with one of the state’s best offensive attacks.
This year’s squad will rely a lot more on the Hawks’ pitching staff.
Ankeny returns four key pitchers from a team that posted a 32-7 record and won the CIML Iowa Conference title with a perfect 20-0 mark. Seniors Samuel Andrews, Easton Dunwoody and Dylan Schlee are back along with junior Alex Griess.
“I’m very encouraged with the depth of the pitching staff,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “We have had some guys working hard these past few years so they would be ready for this opportunity when they were called upon.”
Schlee posted a 4-2 record with a 2.42 ERA and three saves. He recorded 30 strikeouts while allowing just five walks in 34 2/3 innings of work.
Dunwoody worked exclusively out of the bullpen, compiling a 0.72 ERA in 10 relief appearances. He is headed to Simpson College along with Schlee.
Andrews went 1-1 with a 4.33 ERA. Griess made a pair of starts, going 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA.
Last year, Ankeny reeled off a 19-game winning streak and advanced to the state tournament for the third consecutive year. The Hawks reached the Class 4A semifinals before losing to Johnston.
The core of that team–including all-staters Jase Bauer, Brody Brecht and Weston Fulk–will have to be replaced. Another all-stater, Ryan Crandall, elected to skip his senior season in order to begin his football career at Western Illinois.
Essentially, it’s a new era for the Ankeny program.
“Our weakness is simply inexperience at the varsity level at the plate and out in the field,” said Balvanz, whose team set school records for batting average (.378) and stolen bases (120) last year. “We had some guys who graduated in 2021 who had held starting spots down for three to four years. It may take us some time to feel out a few positions or spots in the lineup, but I’m really encouraged by what I’ve seen so far this spring.”
Senior catcher and first baseman Tamden Webb-Tate is the team’s top returning position player. He was named to the Iowa Conference second team as a junior, when he batted .271 with two home runs, 12 doubles and 23 RBIs.
Webb-Tate will play for St. Charles (Mo.) Community College next year.
Senior Thomas DeBrower is expected to start in center field. He served primarily as a courtesy runner a year ago, when he stole seven bases and scored 20 runs.
Ankeny’s lineup will be strengthened by the addition of junior shortstop Jamison Patton, a transfer from Des Moines Roosevelt. He helped the Roughriders to a 27-14 mark last season, when he batted .337 with five homers, eight doubles and 41 RBIs.
“The practices have been going great,” Balvanz said. “We have some guys who are still competing in their spring sports so there are a few moving pieces right now. We have a lot of new faces out there. Our seniors are doing a great job of leading during practice.”
Balvanz said some younger players will have to grow up in a hurry for the Hawks.
“These guys are eager to contribute at the varsity level,” he said. “We are going to have to learn on the job offensively and do whatever it takes to put a crooked number up there on the board. I think defensively we will continue to use our athleticism to make plays around the yard.”
The Hawks will open the season on Wednesday with a non-conference doubleheader at eighth-ranked Pleasant Valley, the defending Class 4A champion. It will be a huge test for a young and inexperienced team, but Balvanz is looking forward to the challenge.
“I feel like this team has tremendous potential,” he said. “Many of the guys who will be expected to lead this summer have been around the program for some time. They know what it takes to win, and they expect to continue to win every night. I think the pitching staff will be tough. Andrews, Schlee, Dunwoody and Griess all return varsity experience. Tommy (DeBrower), Jack (Clevidence), Brock (Adamson), Jamison (Patton) and several others will make contributions on the bump this summer.
“If we can just be routine defensively, I feel this group will compete at high level,” he added.
