The Ankeny baseball team dropped out of a first-place tie with seventh-ranked Waukee Northwest in the CIML Iowa Conference on Monday, but salvaged a split of a doubleheader at Fort Dodge to remain in the thick of the league race.
The No. 10 Hawks posted a 7-1 victory in the nightcap after dropping a 10-8 decision in the opener. They are now 9-3 in the conference and 10-7 overall, while Fort Dodge’s records are 3-7 and 8-11.
“We made too many mistakes–both mentally and physically–to win that first game, but it’s still encouraging that they had the fight and the grit to come back and get their starter off the mound and move their bullpen around a little bit in the second game,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “I was proud of them. They fought hard.”
Samuel Andrews (1-2) and Brock Adamson combined on a four-hitter in the nightcap. Andrews allowed one earned run over the first five innings, giving up five walks while recording 11 strikeouts.
“Andrews did a nice job,” Balvanz said. “He had flashes where he was super sharp. Adamson then came in to finish it.”
The Hawks sealed the win with a four-run outburst in the sixth inning. Jamison Patton hit a three-run homer, his third of the season, to make it 7-1.
Patton went 2-for-3 and stole two bases, while Dylan Schlee also went 2-for-3 with a double. Thomas DeBrower went 3-for-5, and Tamden Webb-Tate had a double and one RBI.
Ankeny finished with 13 hits. The Hawks left 10 runners on base.
Fort Dodge ran itself out of an inning late in the game. With runners on second and third and one out, Ankeny overthrew the ball back to the pitcher.
However, the Hawks gunned down one runner trying to score, then threw out the other runner going for third.
“That was an unusual double play that got us out of a jam,” Balvanz said. “But it shows that the guys are battling hard.”
In the opener, Ankeny rallied for six runs in the seventh inning to erase a 7-2 deficit. Webb-Tate hit a two-run homer, his first of the season, to give the Hawks an 8-7 lead.
Fort Dodge then snapped a seven-game losing streak when Eli Elsbecker hit a three-run homer off Easton Dunwoody (1-3) in the bottom of the frame.
“Tamden hit a bomb to put us up, and then we gave it back,” Balvanz said.
Reid Johnson drove in two runs for Ankeny. DeBrower and Isaiah Otten each doubled and had one RBI.
Alex Griess got a no-decision after giving up five earned runs on seven hits over the first six innings. He walked one and had five strikeouts.
“Griess pitched well,” Balvanz said. “We just didn’t take care of the ball behind him.”
The Hawks will host a non-conference game against Carlisle (9-7) on Wednesday before Waukee Northwest (13-6) visits on Thursday for an Iowa Conference doubleheader between the league’s top two teams.
