After moving into the No. 10 spot in the latest Class 4A rankings, the Ankeny baseball team extended its winning streak to five games with an 18-2 victory in five innings in the opener of a CIML Conference doubleheader on Monday at Waukee Northwest.
The Hawks scored seven runs in both the third and fifth innings. They pounded out 19 hits off three Northwest pitchers.
“The guys just continued to swing it like they did over the weekend,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “It was good to see really good at-bats up and down the lineup in that first game. We got a really good effort out of (winning pitcher) Brock (Adamson), and (Will) Davies was able to come in and finish so we could keep Brock under 65 pitches.”
Six different players had two RBIs for the Hawks, including Kinnick Vos, who went 3-for-4 with a home run. It was his first homer of the season.
Max Watson and Evan Irlmeier each went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs, while Jack Clevidence and Reid Johnson each went 2-for-4 and had two RBIs. One of Johnson’s hits was a triple.
Ben Sandvig and Karsten Bernholtz each went 3-for-4 and knocked in a run. Sandvig finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle and scored three runs, while Bernholtz had a pair of doubles.
Carson Agan also had two RBIs. Ryan Maire doubled and drove in a run.
Adamson (6-2) allowed one earned run on two hits over the first 3 2/3 innings. He had six strikeouts.
“Brock just pounded the zone,” Balvanz said. “He consistently got ahead in the count.”
Ankeny was hoping for a sweep that would have allowed the Hawks to get back to the .500 mark in conference play, but Northwest used a three-run fifth inning to post a 5-3 win in the nightcap. The Wolves salvaged the finale of the three-game season series.
“The first game went really well. I can’t really say the same for the second game,” Balvanz said. “Alex (Griess) pitched pretty well. He threw some great pitches, but we just kind of lost the feel for the strike zone there in the fifth. Emotions might have got the best of some of our guys, and we just made some uncharacteristic mistakes on defense that we haven’t been making. But that happens. We’ll get back to work (Tuesday).”
Griess (3-4) allowed one earned run on two hits over the first 4 2/3 innings. He walked six and had five strikeouts.
Clevidence went 3-for-4 and scored a run in the loss. Agan and Irlmeier each had an RBI.
Grant Miller earned the win with two scoreless of relief. He allowed an unearned run on two hits and had three strikeouts.
Asheton Smith then struck out the side in the seventh inning.
“It’s a tough league,” Balvanz said. “Everybody has some good arms, and we saw some in that second game. In this league, your margin for error is literally razor thin. You can win or lose every game you play. You have to come and play every single inning one out at a time, but I’m not too worried about the guys. They’ll bounce back.”
The Hawks are now 9-11 in the conference and 17-16 overall. Northwest’s records are 6-14 and 16-20.
Ankeny, which could still finish as high as third place in the league, will play at No. 1 Ankeny Centennial (26-3) on Wednesday. The Jaguars swept an earlier twinbill on June 7.
