It took 19 innings for the Ankeny Centennial softball team to earn a pair of victories against its crosstown rival on Thursday.
The second-ranked Jaguars traveled across town to Ankeny and posted an 8-5 win in 12 innings in the opener. They then defeated the Hawkettes again, 5-2, to complete a sweep of the CIML Iowa Conference doubleheader.
“It was a battle,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “We know anytime we play Ankeny, we’re going to come out and give each other our best. They never gave up, and we never gave up and we found a way to win that first one in 12.”
Sydney Morris doubled to start Centennial’s 12th-inning rally. Jordyn Kennedy then followed with a two-run homer to break a 5-5 tie.
“She just stays composed and is just up there to hit the ball,” Delaney said of the eighth grader. “She just takes it one pitch at a time, and no moment is too big for her right now. We’re excited to have her on our side.”
Kennedy was hitless in the game before she blasted her third home run of the season.
“It was kind of a flat riseball, and she was on it and hit it out,” said Ankeny coach Dave Bingham. “So credit to her.”
Mackenzie James went 3-for-6 with a double and three RBIs in the win. Morris went 2-for-6 with two doubles, while Addi Starr went 2-for-6 and scored a run.
Jadeyn Stahr (3-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win. She allowed three hits and three walks while recording one strikeout.
“It took both Jadeyn and Gus (Lauren Gustofson) to finish them off, and we got some timely hits,” Delaney said.
Gustofson started for Centennial and cruised into the seventh inning, when Ankeny rallied for four runs to tie it. Ashtyn Billings capped the rally with a two-run single to left field.
“That was a huge hit for us,” Bingham said. “Both games were tight. It was a lot of fun.”
Ankeny’s Abby Rusher (0-1) took the loss. She allowed three earned runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings.
In the nightcap, sophomore Cora Boyle (1-0) led the Jaguars to the win. She went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs while also tossing a seven-hitter with four strikeouts.
James and Lauren Solis each had two hits and scored a pair of runs. Payton Drefke went 2-for-4, and Starr had one RBI.
The Jaguars, who won four of five meetings against Ankeny last year, improved to 4-2 in the conference and 6-3 overall.
“We knew this week was going to be challenging with playing Fort Dodge on Tuesday, Valley on Wednesday and Ankeny on Thursday,” said Delaney, whose team will also face Ballard and Central Springs at the Ballard Invitational on Friday. “Our kids have responded well, and it’s been exciting to watch them play. We’re playing some good softball.”
Billings (1-2) took the loss for Ankeny. She allowed two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings.
Billings went 2-for-3 at the plate. Eva Fulk also went 2-for-3 and scored a run for the Hawkettes, who dropped to 2-4 in the league and 3-4 overall.
“She was on base a lot and had a couple of big hits,” Bingham said of Fulk. “She also made one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. It was just a tremendous play out of her.”
Ankeny will host another conference twinbill against Ames on Monday.
“We’ve got a really good group of kids, and we’ll keep building,” Bingham said. “We’ve got to field the ball better, but once we do that, I think we’ll see some good things. We had some good pitching tonight, so we did some good things on the mound.”
