The first game of the postseason can sometimes be the most stressful one.
That won’t be the case for the Ankeny Centennial baseball team.
The top-ranked Jaguars pounded out 15 hits and rolled to a 22-0 victory over visiting Des Moines North in four innings in a Class 4A substate quarterfinal on Friday.
“The guys are certainly very focused this time of year,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey. “I was happy with how they played.”
Centennial pitchers Joey Oakie, Easton Pratt and Emerson Alberhasky combined on a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts. Oakie had seven strikeouts over the first two innings, then Pratt and Alberhasky each worked an inning and struck out the side.
Oakie (7-2) took the mound for the first time since leaving a game at Sioux City North six days earlier with a hip injury.
“His velocity was good, and his mechanics looked clean,” Hey said. “There was no pain from his hip, so that was a real positive sign.”
Oakie also had a big game at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a home run, a triple and three RBIs. It was his first homer of the season and the fourth of his career.
Centennial (30-7) took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Jaguars erupted for 11 runs in the second, then added eight more in the third.
Isaac Bruhl went 3-for-3 with a triple and drove in four runs. Damin Churchman went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs.
Sean Stewart went 2-for-3 and knocked in two runs. Kyle Miller also had two RBIs, while Preston Glatt doubled and drove in a run.
Lucas Bruhl went 2-for-3 with a double. Seven of Centennial’s hits went for extra bases.
“Even our outs were hard-hit outs,” Hey said. “The pitcher’s velocity wasn’t great, but sometimes those are the hardest guys to stay back on. I was really happy with the adjustments that our guys made. We had some really good at-bats.”
North finished the season with a 1-29 record.
The Jaguars will host Ames (27-13) or Fort Dodge (20-18) in the substate final on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
