Cora Boyle and the Ankeny Centennial softball team didn’t have any time to dwell on Thursday’s season-opening loss to Norwalk.
About 12 hours later, the top-ranked Jaguars were back on the diamond at the Johnston Invitational, where Boyle tossed a three-hitter and also went 2-for-4 at the plate in a 4-2 victory over No. 5 Ankeny.
“We were ready to attack,” said Boyle. “Thursday was a rough day. We had trouble squaring up the ball, but I think throughout the whole lineup we made adjustments. Even our pinch-hitters came in and did their job. I think it was important we put bunts down when we needed to and squared up balls and found gaps when we needed to.”
Jordyn Kennedy went 3-for-4 with a double for Centennial, which took advantage of six Ankeny errors to score three unearned runs. Jessica Lathrop and Addi Starr each had an RBI for the Jaguars.
“We knew the girls would come ready to play, but we were just curious about their energy level,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “But they brought the energy from the time we started taking batting practice in the morning. Cora came out ready to go, and we finally got the bats going a little bit against a really good Ankeny team so it was an impressive victory.”
Abby Rusher took the loss, allowing one earned run on seven hits over the first 6 1/3 innings.
“Centennial was much more buttoned up than we were in a lot of areas,” said Ankeny coach Dave Bingham. “There’s some learning going on.”
Boyle took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Ankeny’s Autumn Leinen reached on an error. Leinen later advanced to third when Avery Nelson had a bunt single for the Hawkettes’ first hit, but she was then thrown out at home by Kennedy on a grounder to third by Aubrey Lensmeyer.
“I wanted this one,” Boyle said. “They (beat) me last year; I didn’t throw so well. But I was ready today. I feel like my curveball really had them off-balance. I threw the change when I needed to.”
In the seventh, Boyle walked Lily Hans before Ava Tomlinson followed with a two-run homer to cut Centennial’s lead in half.
“That was my one mistake,” said Boyle, who walked three and had three strikeouts. “I should have shook it off, but we got the win and that’s all that matters.”
Tomlinson was waiting for a pitch that she could drive.
“We were taking until we got a strike since we were down,” she said. “I was just looking for something in my zone that I knew I could get out of the park. I’m pretty sure it was a change up. I was just sitting on it.”
Tomlinson moved behind the plate after Ankeny’s starting catcher, Cassie Johnson, suffered a foot injury earlier in the game. Johnson was hurt while trying to catch a pop fly against the backstop.
“It was the concrete on the bottom, and her toe hit it,” Bingham said. “So when she tried to squat down, the pressure was there. She’ll probably be out for awhile.”
Tomlinson could help pick up the slack.
“I think it will definitely be a big role to fill,” she said. “I think we have a lot of people who can come through and fill that spot. We just need to rally together, and we’ll be perfectly fine.”
Tomlinson’s blast provided some momentum for the Hawkettes, who later posted an 11-3 win over No. 11 Dubuque Hempstead (1-4). Tomlinson had a double and an RBI in that game.
“Ava’s a great player. We’ve got a lot of kids that can play,” Bingham said. “We have to figure out who can get it done, and Ava has always been that kid. She’s been behind some pretty great players in her career. It’s her time. When she barrels it up, it’s going to be gone.”
The Jaguars, meanwhile, went on to drop a 14-3 decision to No. 7 Johnston in five innings in the championship game. Grace Anderson went 3-for-3 with three doubles and a walk, four stolen bases and four runs scored for the Dragons (2-2).
“We just didn’t execute,” said Delaney, whose team is now 1-2 on the season. “They exposed a few things on us, and we’ll have to go back to the drawing board. We’ll just have to learn from it and grow, and we’ll see them again (on June 3).”
Kori Lincicum, the first of Centennial’s three pitchers, took the loss. Starr had an RBI double for the Jaguars, and Boyle also drove in a run.
In the third-place game, Ankeny got a homer and three RBIs from Leinen. Nelson went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Josie Parton went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.
Hans added a double and two RBIs for the Hawkettes, who also got three stolen bases from Lensmeyer.
Lensmeyer was the winning pitcher as well. She scattered nine hits and had nine strikeouts.
“We played well,” Bingham said. “It was fun to see Leinen get her first home run.”
On Saturday, Ankeny played three games at the Winterset Invitational and went 1-2, leaving the Hawkettes with a 4-4 record. Bingham’s team managed just two runs on the day.
Ankeny opened the tournament with a 1-0 victory in nine innings over ADM (Adel), the No. 10 team in Class 4A. The game featured a brilliant pitchers’ duel between Rusher and ADM’s Lauren Hagedorn.
Rusher tossed a one-hitter and had 16 strikeouts. ADM’s only hit was a single by Kaylee Smith.
“Abby was really locked in,” Bingham said. “She looked great.”
Hagedorn was almost as good for the Tigers (3-1). She racked up 10 strikeouts and allowed just one hit–a single by Lensmeyer.
The game went to the international tiebreaker when it went to extra innings, putting a runner on second to begin each frame.
“We did a great job in the top of the (ninth) making a couple of plays to prevent them from scoring,” Bingham said. “That’s kind of hard to do.”
In the bottom of the inning, Ankeny’s Hannah Howard advanced to third on a passed ball. After Lensmeyer popped out, Howard raced home on another passed ball for the walk-off win.
“Nellie was showing slap to get something on the ground to win it,” Bingham said. “We had another passed ball and it didn’t go very far, but Howard got a great read on it and was able to score. It was one of those games that would have gone on forever without the time limit.”
The Hawkettes followed with a 4-1 loss to Ballard (Huxley) (2-4). Lensmeyer (2-1) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on nine hits while recording nine strikeouts.
Hans doubled and scored Ankeny’s lone run. She was knocked in by Tomlinson.
Ankeny closed out the tournament with a 1-0 loss in six innings to Winterset (2-3), the No. 5 team in Class 4A. Rusher (2-3) took the loss, despite allowing no earned runs on just four hits.
“We definitely saw some elite pitching this weekend,” Bingham said.
Nelson, Leinen and Gracyn Adams each had a hit for the Hawkettes, who will have the next week off before returning to action on June 3.
“We’re in a little hitting slump and playing three games in a row it kind of carried over,” Bingham said. “But we will persevere.”
The Jaguars will play a doubleheader on Wednesday at No. 3 Valley (2-0). It will be the CIML Conference opener for both teams.
