The Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial softball teams are slated to meet in a top-10 showdown on June 7 at Ankeny.
The two squads got a preview of that matchup on Friday, when they collided in the championship game of the Johnston Classic.
Abby Rusher tossed a four-hitter and had five strikeouts to lead the ninth-ranked Hawkettes to a 6-0 victory over No. 6 Centennial. The win avenged four losses to the Jaguars a year ago.
“We’ve got the luxury of having a lot of pitchers,” said Ankeny coach Dave Bingham. “You just kind of have to ride the hot hand, and today was Abby’s day.”
Rusher (3-0) allowed two walks in the shutout. She was backed up by a defense that committed just one error.
“Abby and the defense behind her played well, and they got a couple of timely hits,” Centennial coach Brett Delaney said of the Hawkettes. “They’re just a really good team.”
Ankeny took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning against Centennial starter Jadeyn Stahr (1-1). Stahr allowed no earned runs on two hits before Delaney brought in relievers Jordyn Kennedy and Cora Boyle.
The Hawkettes added a run in the sixth inning, then got three more in the seventh to seal the victory. Cassie Johnson hit a two-run double with one out in the seventh.
“We love playing good quality teams, whether it’s the Jags or anyone in the CIML,” Bingham said. “Those are the teams that win the state championship, right? We played clean, and I think the key to our team is playing good defense. If we do that, we’ll be pretty good.”
Kendra Lewis went 2-for-4 and scored a run as Ankeny improved to 4-0 on the season. Kendra Winfrey also went 2-for-4 and had one RBI.
Kennedy Palmer tripled and drove in a run. Reagan Enright and Kaylyn Miller each had one RBI.
Mackenzie James went 2-for-3 for the Jaguars (4-1). Mariah Belzer had a double.
“We knew we could face each other, and we’ll see each other again in another week or so,” Delaney said. “It was just a great opportunity for two good teams to play each other early in the season.”
Both teams advanced to the championship game with wins earlier in the day. The Hawkettes rallied for a 9-7 victory over No. 14 Dubuque Hempstead, while the Jaguars rolled to a 12-5 triumph over No. 8 Johnston.
Ankeny used a five-run sixth inning to erase a 5-4 deficit against Hempstead (1-4). Rusher pitched three innings of relief to earn the win.
“We’re playing pretty solid,” Bingham said. “The girls just kind of stayed steady. It’s good to get a few of those games under your belt where you have to face a little deficit and find a way to come back, so I was proud of them for that.”
Johnson went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, while Palmer also went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs. Lewis went 3-for-3 and scored a run.
Aubrey Lensmeyer homered and knocked in three runs.
“We’ve got a lot of kids with some pop,” Bingham said. “It was good to see Aubrey get one on the board. She can really swing it.”
In its win over Johnston (0-1), Centennial got back-to-back home runs from Sydney Morris and Kennedy in the first inning.
“That’s the first time in my five years at Centennial that we’ve gone back-to-back,” Delaney said.
Kennedy later homered again and also doubled. She went 4-for-5 and drove in five runs, while Morris went 2-for-3 and had two RBIs.
Lauren Gustofson (2-0) tossed a seven-hitter and had seven strikeouts. She also went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs.
“Gus pitched a great game. She battled the whole way,” Delaney said. “We’ve never really played great in that tournament, but we kind of got that monkey off our back with the win over Johnston. Then we ran into a really good Ankeny team.”
Belzer and Ellie Lorenz each drove in a run for the Jaguars, who will travel to Dowling Catholic on Tuesday for a CIML Conference doubleheader on Tuesday.
Ankeny will be back on the field Saturday for three games at the Winterset Invitational. The Hawkettes will play Interstate 35 (2-1) at 10 a.m., ADM (3-1) at noon and Winterset (1-3) at 2 p.m.
