The Ankeny Centennial softball players were prepared for a long bus ride to Mason City on Wednesday.
It turns out that the Jaguars never had to board the bus.
The CIML Iowa Conference doubleheader was moved to Centennial due to a wet field in Mason City, and the sixth-ranked Jaguars went on to sweep the twinbill by identical 12-0 scores.
“Our girls came to the park ready to play,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “We were kind of curious to see how they would respond. We were supposed to go to Mason City, but they got a lot of rain and we were able to switch things around. But our girls handled the change in the schedule very well. They were ready to play two games.”
Both contests ended early via the mercy rule. The Jaguars scored seven runs in the fourth inning to end the first game, then got a run in the third to close out the nightcap.
Centennial improved to 8-4 in the conference and 12-7 overall. The River Hawks’ records dropped to 2-10 and 6-11.
“The girls took advantage of every opportunity,” Delaney said. “There were some things that happened on the bases where we give the girls the opportunity to read those situations and take advantage of them if they can. And eventually, our bats got going, too. It was fun to put everything together.”
The Jaguars took a 1-0 lead in the opener on an RBI grounder by Addi Starr in the first inning. They added three more runs in the second, two of them on wild pitches.
Centennial later scored another run on an error by Mason City, when Cora Boyle was caught in a rundown between third and home before the River Hawks threw the ball away.
Mackenzie James went 2-for-2 and had two RBIs for the Jaguars. Sydney Morris doubled and also drove in two runs.
Jordyn Kennedy, Lauren Solis and Lizzy Klunder each went 2-for-3. Solis had a double, and Klunder hit an RBI single in the fourth to end the game.
Lauren Gustofson (4-2) went 2-for-2 and was also the winning pitcher. She tossed a two-hitter and had four strikeouts.
Gustofson took a no-hitter into the fourth inning before Reggi Spotts singled. Spotts went to third when losing pitcher Adyson Evans doubled off the fence, but Gustofson got out of the jam.
In the second game, Centennial’s Jadeyn Stahr (7-2) threw a one-hitter and had three strikeouts.
“Gus and Jadeyn have been throwing very well for us this season,” Delaney said. “(Wednesday) was an opportunity for them to both work on some things, and they did that.”
James doubled and had two RBIs in the win. Starr, Mallory Hoogensen and Boyle also drove in two runs apiece.
Hoogensen singled in the third inning to knock in Makenna Foster with the game-ending run. Both Hoogensen and Alee Edwards, who went 2-for-3 and scored two runs, were part of another new lineup for the Jaguars.
Delaney has seldom used the same lineup in both games of a doubleheader this season.
“We’re fortunate with where we are at with our program right now that we have a lot of depth, and we can switch things around and give different girls some opportunities,” Delaney said. “The girls have worked hard all offseason, and we’re just trying to get as much playing time as we can for all of them. We don’t really have to settle in on a lineup just yet.”
The Jaguars will host another Iowa Conference doubleheader against Marshalltown (1-12) on Thursday. They swept a twinbill against the Bobcats, 16-0 and 14-0, in the season opener on May 23.
