With two more wins on Saturday in the Brent Prange Classic, the Ankeny softball team has now surpassed its victory total from each of the previous three seasons.
The ninth-ranked Hawkettes, who went 4-0 in the tournament, are now 23-8 overall. They won 21 games last year, 19 in 2020 and 20 in 2019 under coach Dave Bingham.
“It’s always nice to win ballgames and continue to progress as a team,” said Bingham. “One of our goals is always to score first, and that doesn’t always happen, but against Ballard on Friday we had a nine-run second inning and that really started the weekend for us.”
Ankeny closed out the tournament on Saturday with a 7-2 victory over Estherville-Lincoln Central, the No. 5 team in Class 3A. The Midgets dropped to 22-7.
Aubrey Lensmeyer (3-1) earned her second win in two days. She allowed no earned runs over 3 1/3 innings and had five strikeouts.
“That’s the luxury when you have a great staff,” Bingham said. “You can make a change if you have to, and Aubrey’s just real solid and steady. I’m really proud of her for picking up the two wins.”
Mariah Parton went 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBIs. She also stole two bases and scored three times.
Kennedy Palmer went 2-for-2 with a triple and drove in three runs. Larissa Miller went 2-for-3, while Kendra Winfrey and Ashtyn Billings each drove in a run.
Earlier on Saturday, Ankeny rolled to a 12-2 triumph over Pleasantville (9-13) in five innings. Billings (9-3) tossed a three-hitter with seven strikeouts and also went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI.
Reagan Enright went 3-for-3 and drove in four runs. Winfrey went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.
Miller went 1-for-2, stole two bases and scored two runs. Parton hit a triple.
“We have the 72 rule where we try to score seven or more runs and limit our opponents to two runs or fewer,” Bingham said. “When we do that, it turns out that your record is pretty good.”
On Friday, the Hawkettes opened the tournament with a 9-4 victory over Ballard, defeating the Bombers (11-14) for the second time in seven days. Lensmeyer earned the win, allowing just one earned run on two hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Rylee Riesberg went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Palmer doubled and knocked in two runs.
Ankeny later cruised to a 9-0 win over Davis County (14-5), the No. 9 team in Class 3A. Winfrey (9-3) tossed a two-hitter with six strikeouts and also went 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Palmer went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.
“Kennedy is on fire,” Bingham said. “She is dialed in. Her quality of at-bats over the last 10 games is probably leading our team.”
Eva Fulk went 2-for-4, stole two bases, scored two runs and drove in another. Billings and Parton each doubled and had one RBI.
The Hawkettes will host a CIML Iowa Conference doubleheader against Marshalltown (2-22) on Monday.
