At the end of another long week, the Ankeny baseball team needed somebody to eat some innings on the mound.
Travis Gerstel answered the call.
The sophomore righthander made his varsity debut on Thursday, tossing three scoreless innings to close out the Hawks’ 6-3 victory over visiting Waukee in the first game of a doubleheader.
“Warming up in the bullpen, I had a few nerves going,” said Gerstel.
Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz promoted Gerstel to the varsity squad a week ago. He was in the dugout for the Hawks’ 5-4 loss at seventh-ranked Dowling Catholic on Wednesday.
“It felt pretty good watching that game on the bench,” Gerstel said. “I think that got me ready to pitch today.”
Ankeny held a 4-3 lead when Gerstel replaced starter Brock Adamson in the fifth. He allowed just two hits the rest of the way and had four strikeouts.
“My curveball was going pretty nice,” Gerstel said. “I got some swings and misses with it, and then I was just locating my fastball down and out.”
Gerstel needed just 48 pitches to get through the last three innings.
“I knew Travis had the ability to do something like that,” Balvanz said. “He’s done a good job of working hard while he waited for his opportunity, and when the opportunity came he took advantage of it. There will probably be some more (opportunities).”
Adamson (3-1) earned the win, allowing three earned runs on four hits over the first four innings. He walked five and had seven strikeouts.
Adamson, who threw 64 pitches on Monday at Valley, worked his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning.
“I thought Brock battled the best with what he had,” Balvanz said. “We needed him, and he gave us a chance to win.”
Evan Irlmeier went 3-for-3 in the win. He stole two bases, scored a run and drove in another.
Reid Johnson had two RBIs, while Ben Sandvig went 2-for-4 and scored twice. Sandvig hit a leadoff triple in the sixth, then came home on a sacrifice fly by Max Watson to provide an insurance run.
“I thought Sandvig had his best doubleheader of the year,” Balvanz said.
Carson Agan and Karsten Bernholtz also had RBIs for the Hawks. Bernholtz hit a run-scoring single to cap a two-out rally in the fifth.
“The young guys at the bottom of the lineup were able to turn that over and score a run there,” Balvanz said. “That was really, really good. That can be deflating for a defense.”
Waukee then posted an 8-3 win in the nightcap to salvage a split of the twinbill. John Morris (0-1) took the loss, allowing three earned runs in the first 1 2/3 innings.
Balvanz praised the effort of senior Ryan Maire, who pitched five innings of relief, allowing two earned runs on seven hits. He walked none and had four strikeouts.
“Maire just continues to lead in ways that are mature beyond his years,” Balvanz said. “He goes to the mound and he’s not going to light up the radar gun, but he understands we have a big ballpark and he’s got a defense behind him, so you don’t have to throw 90 to get away with it. He has such a great attitude and is a great leader for us.”
Blake Morgan went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in the loss. Sandvig also had a double, while Agan knocked in a run.
The Hawks simply couldn’t overcome an early 5-0 deficit.
“We just struggled to compete on the mound to start the game,” Balvanz said. “We were behind a lot of hitters, and that can be hard. Waukee did a good job of being patient and taking what we were giving them, and then they got some timely hits to extend that lead. Sometimes you get to Thursday and you get to the tail end of your pitching, and you have games like that.”
The Hawks are now 6-8 in the CIML Conference and 11-12. Waukee improved its records to 5-9 and 10-12.
Ankeny will play at third-ranked Johnston (20-5) on Monday. The two teams will complete a game that was suspended due to rain on May 30 before following with the doubleheader that was already scheduled.
