The Ankeny Centennial softball team continues to dominate most of its opponents in the CIML Iowa Conference.
The fifth-ranked Jaguars earned their fifth doubleheader sweep of the season on Thursday with a pair of run-rule victories over visiting Marshalltown. They rolled to a 14-2 win in four innings, then completed the sweep with an 11-0 triumph in five innings.
Six of Centennial’s 10 victories in league play–including the last four–have ended early via the mercy rule.
“We’re just trying to get back into the groove of things,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday. “We had a long break before this last week, and we knew this week and next week would be really busy. We’re just trying to work on a few things, and I think we did that.”
Sophomore pitcher Jessica Lathrop (1-0) made her first varsity start for the Jaguars in the nightcap. She allowed six hits and two walks while recording seven strikeouts.
“Jess did a nice job,” Delaney said. “She got her first varsity win, and that was neat to see.”
Jordyn Kennedy and Lauren Solis each went 2-for-3 and had two RBIs in the victory. Malin Vallejo went 2-for-3 and scored three times, while Claire Suarez drove in two runs in both games.
In the opener, Centennial erupted for nine runs in the third inning to build a 12-2 lead. The Jaguars then added two more runs in the fourth to end the game.
Mackenzie James went 4-for-4 with a double and had four RBIs.
“Mackenzie has been playing well,” Delaney said. “She’s been working on a few things, and she’s put in the work and it’s starting to show up in the games for us.”
Cora Boyle went 2-for-2 and knocked in a run. Payton Drefke went 2-for-3 and had one RBI.
Winning pitcher Lauren Gustofson doubled and drove in a run to help her own cause. Gustofson (5-2) allowed no earned runs on seven hits while striking out two.
The Jaguars improved to 10-4 in the conference and 14-7 overall. Marshalltown’s records dropped to 0-14 and 1-14.
“We’ve had a busy week, and we went 6-1,” said Delaney, whose team’s only loss during that stretch came on Tuesday in a non-conference game at Carlisle, the No. 4 team in Class 4A. “The girls just took advantage of the opportunities we had.”
No. 1 Waukee Northwest leads the Iowa Conference with a 12-2 mark. No. 4 Fort Dodge, the defending Class 5A champion, is in second at 11-3.
Centennial was swept by both of those teams earlier this season, but will get a chance to avenge those losses this week. The Jaguars will host doubleheaders against Fort Dodge on Monday and Northwest on Wednesday.
“We were right there in both games against Northwest and Fort Dodge. We’re just right there,” Delaney said. “Ultimately, we’re just playing one game at a time and getting ready for the end of the season.”
