A season-opening split was just fine with Ankeny baseball coach Joe Balvanz.
The Hawks kicked off the 2023 season on Wednesday by splitting a non-conference twinbill against visiting Pleasant Valley, the No. 6 team in Class 4A. After dropping a 5-3 decision in the opener, Ankeny rebounded with a 2-1 win in the nightcap.
The Spartans (2-1), who won the Class 4A state title in 2021, had opened their season with a 4-1 victory at No. 3 Johnston–the defending state champion–on Monday.
“It’s not an easy task to open up against them,” Balvanz said. “I think very highly of Pleasant Valley and their coaching staff. You’re going to have to play well to stay in the game with them. I thought we had some good senior leadership tonight, and I also thought we had some young kids who looked like they belonged. I was proud of them.”
Alex Griess (1-0) and Nick Meyer combined on a four-hitter in the second game. Griess allowed just three hits and racked up nine strikeouts over the first six innings.
Evan Irlmeier hit a chopper over the head of pitcher James Very to drive in Reid Johnson with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth.
“This was a great test for what conference play is going to be like,” Balvanz said. “Every game is going to be a battle like that. We’ll take a split at this time of the year. I was pretty pleased with how we played.”
Meyer then got the final three outs to earn a save in his varsity debut. He had a pair of strikeouts.
Meyer also got some help from his defense.
“Reid had an unbelievable catch in right field,” Balvanz said. “I bet he ran 30 yards to catch a ball that was over his head.”
Kinnick Vos went 2-for-3 in the win, while Carson Agan had a double. Karsten Bernholtz drove in the tying run in the fourth.
In the opener, Pleasant Valley took a 2-0 lead in the third inning and added two more runs in the sixth. Carsen Williams went 3-for-3 and had two RBIs for the Spartans.
Ankeny tried to rally with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Hawks’ comeback fell short.
“We had opportunities to tie or take the lead, but we just couldn’t get the hit when we needed it,” Balvanz said. “We also had a couple of guys thrown out at the plate. (Pleasant Valley) played good defense and pitched really well.”
Johnson and Irlmeier each went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Charlie Crane went 2-for-3. Irlmeier and Crane each had a double.
Ryan Maire knocked in two runs for the Hawks. Max Watson also had an RBI.
Freshman Lincoln Dalton tossed five scoreless innings to earn the win. He outdueled Brock Adamson (0-1), who allowed four earned runs on 11 hits over the first 5 2/3 innings while recording four strikeouts.
“I thought Brock threw well enough to win,” Balvanz said. “He just pounds the zone.”
Ankeny will play a non-conference game at Bettendorf (2-0) on Thursday. The Bulldogs are coming off a sweep over Solon on Monday.
“Hopefully, we’ll continue to play well,” Balvanz said.
