The Ankeny Centennial softball pitchers allowed just five runs on Monday in a doubleheader at top-ranked Waukee Northwest.
Unfortunately, the No. 5 Jaguars managed just two runs themselves.
The Wolves posted a 2-1 victory in eight innings in the first game, then completed a sweep of the twinbill with a 3-1 triumph in the nightcap.
“Our pitchers pitched well enough to win both games tonight,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “All three of our pitchers threw really well. We just didn’t get them enough runs to (win either game).”
In the opener, Centennial took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out single by Payton Drefke. But that was the only run allowed by Maddie Oetzmann, who went on to toss a seven-hitter with six strikeouts.
Jadeyn Stahr retired the first 10 Northwest batters that she faced before Reagan Bartholomew broke up the perfect game with a one-out single in the fourth off the glove of Drefke, the Jaguars’ leftfielder. Haley Boyd followed with another single, but Stahr got out of the jam when shortstop Lauren Solis turned a line drive into an inning-ending double play.
In the sixth, Bailie Kroll drew a leadoff walk for the Wolves. A single by Bartholomew, followed by an error, put runners at second and third with no outs.
Lauren Gustofson replaced Stahr and allowed an RBI grounder by Ella Parker that tied the game. However, she avoided further damage by retiring Emily Klaiber on another grounder to leave a runner stranded at third.
After both teams went down in order in the seventh, Centennial’s Sydney Morris hit a one-out single in the eighth. But pinch-runner Addie Pollock was left stranded.
In the bottom of the eighth, Kiana Carnes blooped a single down the right-field line to ignite Northwest’s rally. She advanced to second on a bunt by Kroll, who also reached when the umpire ruled that Centennial second baseman Cora Boyle–who was covering first–didn’t get her foot on the bag.
“The umpire made a call that he thought was there,” Delaney said. “We thought she touched the bag, but it is what it is. It’s one of those bang-bang plays and he made the call, and we just had to move on from it. At the end of the day, we just didn’t score enough runs to get it done.”
After a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, Bartholomew was intentionally walked to load the bases. Boyd then hit a sacrifice fly to right to end the game.
Drefke and Morris each went 2-for-3 for the Jaguars. Addi Starr went 2-for-4 and scored a run.
Gustofson (2-2) also took the loss in the second game. She allowed two earned runs on six hits over the first five innings.
Centennial scored its only run in the seventh inning. Mackenzie James went 1-for-3 and had one RBI.
The Jaguars, who were held to four hits, dropped to 4-4 in the CIML Iowa Conference and 7-6 overall. Northwest improved its records to 5-1 and 9-2.
“We knew we were going to face the best in the state tonight, and we’re very fortunate to have that opportunity,” Delaney said.”We were just a couple hits away. We’ll make the adjustments here in the next few days in practice, and we’ll be excited for an opportunity to play them in the postseason.”
Centennial will host a non-conference game against North Polk (5-4) on Tuesday. The Comets are ranked 10th in Class 4A.
