The Ankeny baseball team’s first road trip of the season resulted in a disappointing loss.
The Hawks built an 8-2 lead before Bettendorf rallied for a 10-9 victory in nine innings on Thursday. The Bulldogs (3-0) scored three runs in the fifth and three more in the seventh to force extra innings, then walked it off in the ninth.
“We played really well the first five innings,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz, whose team dropped to 1-2. “I don’t know if we let off the gas a little bit or stopped competing, but you have to tip your cap to Bettendorf. They kept fighting, and they hit a couple of balls over the fence. When you have metal bats and short fences, there is no lead that is safe.”
Bettendorf leadoff hitter Wrigley Matthys went 6-for-6 with a home run and four RBIs in the non-conference game. Jack Reilly also homered and knocked in two runs.
Ankeny’s Carson Agan went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Ben Sandvig also homered and drove in three runs, while Jack Clevidence went 2-for-5.
Five Bettendorf pitchers allowed eight walks and hit four batters–including Sandvig three times–but also combined for 12 strikeouts.
“I thought we struck out too much,” Balvanz said.
The Hawks got a strong pitching performance from sophomore Zach Halverson, who made his first varsity start. He pitched into the fifth inning, allowing five earned runs on nine hits while racking up five strikeouts.
Balvanz went to five different pitchers out of the bullpen, including freshman Will Davies, who took the loss.
“Zach was outstanding, but I saw him starting to fatigue a little bit and I had some other guys that I wanted to see,” Balvanz said. “We just didn’t get the job done in the late innings. It made for a long bus ride home.”
The Hawks will host a non-conference game against seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy (4-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Cougars are coming off a 10-7 win at No. 8 Valley on Friday.
