Ankeny Centennial freshman Lauren Sandholm showed on Thursday why she is one of the state’s top softball pitchers.
Unfortunately, Norwalk’s Carly Brewer was just a little bit better.
Brewer tossed a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts and also homered for the game’s only run as Norwalk, the No. 2 team in Class 4A, posted a 1-0 victory at No. 1 Ankeny Centennial in a non-conference game. It was the season opener for the Jaguars, who were rained out on Tuesday at ADM (Adel).
“Those were probably two of the best pitchers in Iowa, and they went toe-to-toe with each other,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “(Norwalk) just got the upper hand tonight. We knew it was going to be a tough first game. We were hoping to have a game under our belt, but Mother Nature took care of that for us on Tuesday.
“You just have to tip your cap. (Brewer)’s a great pitcher,” he added.
Sandholm allowed just five hits in the loss. She walked two and had five strikeouts.
Only one of the Warriors’ hits went for extra bases. That was the solo homer by Brewer in the second inning.
Mady Ott had both of Centennial’s hits. She singled in the third inning, then later had a leadoff single in the sixth.
Ott was bunted to second by Cora Boyle in the sixth. But after Jordyn Kennedy was intentionally walked, Brewer fanned the next two batters to get out of the jam.
“We want to face the best all season long, whether it’s the first game or up at Fort Dodge in July,” Delaney said. “We just relish the opportunity to face quality competition in central Iowa like that.”
The Warriors (3-0) also own wins over No. 5 Ankeny and No. 10 Southeast Polk.
“It’s just one step in the journey,” Delaney said. “It’s an opportunity to learn and grow. We have another tough opponent (Friday) morning.”
The Jaguars will play Ankeny (2-1) in the Johnston Invitational on Friday at 10 a.m.
