Easton Miller didn’t enjoy watching his Ankeny Centennial baseball teammates succeed without him.
On Wednesday night, the senior centerfielder rejoined the Jaguars’ lineup and helped his squad to a doubleheader sweep over visiting Valley.
“It was hard,” said Miller. “I was kind of bummed out at the wins that they got. It was a long week, but I’m glad to be back.”
Miller went 1-for-3 as top-ranked Centennial posted a 3-0 victory in the opener. He then went 2-for-4 as the Jaguars completed the sweep with a 5-3 triumph.
Miller had not played since leaving the first game of a twinbill against visiting Waukee Northwest on June 12.
“I was sliding into home plate and got a concussion,” Miller said. “I ran into the catcher’s shin guard.”
Miller singled to ignite the Jaguars’ five-run outburst in the first inning of the nightcap. He advanced to second on a single by Nick Severson, then came home on another single by Damin Churchman.
Joey Oakie went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the win. Cole Grider went 2-for-2 with a double, Isaac Bruhl went 2-for-3, Churchman went 2-for-4, and Emerson Alberhasky added an RBI single.
Winning pitcher Sean Stewart (2-0) also drove in a run. He allowed three earned runs on six hits and had three strikeouts over the first four innings.
Ross Crawford then tossed three hitless innings to earn a save. After giving up a pair of two-out walks in the seventh, he retired Ryan Kuennen on a grounder to third to end the game.
“We’ve just got to keep moving forward and keep playing like we have been,” Miller said. “We’ve got to take it into substate and hopefully make it to state.”
The Jaguars improved to 16-2 in the CIML Conference and 24-2 overall. Valley’s records dropped to 5-14 and 10-17.
The Tigers had their three-game winning streak snapped in the opener. All three Centennial runs were unearned off Valley pitcher Jeff Rose, who allowed just five hits and had four strikeouts.
Rose was outdueled by Easton Pratt, who tossed a three-hitter and had 10 strikeouts to raise his record to 6-0. Pratt threw a one-hitter in a 3-0 win at Valley on May 31.
“The first few innings they were kind of sitting on my curveball so I had to mix in a few more fastballs this time around,” said Pratt, who lowered his ERA to 0.21. “Then I kind of settled in and felt like I knew what their swings were like. I changed my mindset and told (my catcher) Nick, and we just came out with the ‘W’.”
Pratt got some help from his defense in the top of the first, when Oakie fielded a single in left field and gunned down a runner at the plate to end the inning. The righthander then cruised the rest of the way, striking out the side in both the fourth and sixth innings.
“It’s been a little different for me this year,” Pratt said. “I’ve gotten a lot more ground balls than I do strikeouts. So it was nice to get a few more strikeouts today.”
Pratt typically pitches on Wednesdays. He follows Oakie and Alberhasky, who usually throw on Mondays, in the Jaguars’ rotation.
“When we stay on that schedule, you know when you need to throw your bullpens,” Pratt said. “You can watch your other guys pitch and support them, so it’s just a big supportive staff for all us pitchers. It really works, too.”
Kyle Miller doubled and scored a run in the first game. Oakie also doubled, while Grider and Bruhl each scored a run.
Centennial took advantage of the Tigers’ four errors.
“I thought this was going to be another state tournament type game like we had against Dowling Catholic (on Monday),” Pratt said. “Just do a little small ball action at the start and get some insurance runs, and then I’ll shut them down.”
The Jaguars will play Van Meter (20-6) in the Brent Prange Classic on Friday at Saydel at 2:30 p.m. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in Class 2A.
Centennial will then host Bettendorf (16-7) in the tournament on Saturday at 4:45 p.m.
