It didn’t take long for Alex Griess and Ben Sandvig to set the tone Monday for the Ankeny baseball team.
Griess quickly retired the first three batters of the game, Sandvig then hit the first of his three doubles to ignite a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the first, and the Hawks went on to beat visiting Ottumwa, 13-0, in five innings in a Class 4A substate semifinal.
“We honestly came here thinking it was going to be a dogfight because (Ottumwa) beat a pretty talented Waukee team (on Friday),” said Sandvig, who went 4-for-4 in the win. “We just came out with the mentality that we’ve got to come out and attack, and I think Griess started us off tremendous with that and then I got a little bloop (double) and from there we just took off.”
Griess tossed a two-hitter and had six strikeouts while raising his record to 4-4. The senior righthander gave up back-to-back singles with two outs in the third inning, but then shut down the Bulldogs the rest of the way.
“That definitely took a lot of the pressure off to score all those runs early on,” Griess said. “I could just go out there and throw strikes and let my defense work behind me.”
Ankeny pounded out 15 hits against three Ottumwa pitchers. The Hawks (21-19) advanced to Wednesday’s substate final at seventh-ranked Dowling Catholic (25-11) at 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs finished the season at 29-12.
“You never know what’s going to happen, but my challenge to the guys was to make (Ottumwa) chase you,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “Come out right away and try to hang a crooked number. Let Alex have a little wiggle room as he works there. Make them play from behind, and they were up for the challenge. I didn’t have a whole lot of complaints. Every at-bat was productive.”
Sandvig got things rolling with two hits in the first inning, including his leadoff double. He raced for second base when his blooper to shallow center field fell between a trio of fielders.
“I saw them kind of kicking (the ball) around and I was like, ‘I got the speed to get there so I’m going to try it out,'” Sandvig said. “Start the game with something crazy.”
After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Sandvig scored when Carson Agan doubled off the left-field fence.
“We didn’t know who was pitching for them or what he was throwing, but we knew that he was a righty so we were prepared for that,” Agan said.
Kinnick Vos and Evan Irlmeier followed with two more RBI doubles. Jack Clevidence and Ryan Maire each hit an RBI single, and Karsten Bernholtz raced home for another run on an error. Maire then scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-0.
“Playing with a lead, especially when it’s win or go home, it just relieves so much pressure and allows Alex to settle down out there,” Agan said. “You can just play so freely.”
Clevidence added a two-run single in the second inning to extend the lead. Maire led off the third with a single, moved to third on Sandvig’s double, and both runners scored on an infield hit by Max Watson to make it 11-0.
“Ryan has been tremendous in turning the lineup over and letting those dudes at the top continue to work,” Balvanz said. “I’m very proud of him.”
In the fourth, Sandvig blasted his third double to drive in a run. He then scored on Watson’s hit for the Hawks’ final run.
Sandvig’s four-hit game raised his average from .301 to .327.
“That young man completely bought in to the ‘get on base’ game and what it takes to hit leadoff,” Balvanz said of Sandvig. “It’s not flashy. I hope he knows how much I admire the way he plays. He has been a catalyst for us at the top of the lineup. When he’s on base, good things happen.”
Clevidence and Maire each went 2-for-3 for Ankeny. Watson and Agan each went 2-for-4.
The Hawks provided more than enough support for Griess, who threw just 71 pitches on the night.
“Alex came out and did a tremendous job, and he has all season,” Sandvig said. “You can really see the strides he has made from last year to this year.”
Ankeny will now play CIML Conference rival Dowling for the right to advance to next week’s state tournament in Iowa City. The Maroons won two of three meetings between the teams during the regular season.
“If we’re going to hit and pitch it like that on Wednesday, I like our chances,” Balvanz said. “But Dowling’s a good team, and we’ll have our hands full.”
The Hawks’ lone victory against Dowling came on May 22. Brock Adamson scattered seven hits and had six strikeouts in a 9-2 win.
Adamson (8-2) is expected to get the start on Wednesday.
“We’re so excited,” Sandvig said. “We’ve had some tough games with them, and we just want to go there and show that we belong with some of the best (teams) in the state. It’s a perfect opportunity.”
The Maroons will likely counter with Cole Southard (5-2), who racked up 12 strikeouts and combined with Jack Clendenin on a one-hitter in a 9-0 victory over Sioux City West in a substate quarterfinal on Friday.
“I would expect to see Southard, and they have another talented lefty (in Clendenin),” Balvanz said. “It’s no secret who we’re running out there. It should be a good game. We’ll line it up and see what happens.”
