Monday’s softball doubleheader at Ankeny Centennial featured a pair of highly-ranked teams that can often light up the scoreboard.
Instead, the two squads faced off in a pair of pitchers’ duels.
After dropping a 4-0 decision in eight innings to No. 5 Johnston in the first game of a doubleheader, No. 6 Centennial rebounded with a 2-1 win in the nightcap to earn a split.
“Night in and night out against the best teams in central Iowa, it’s going to be a grind,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “We just didn’t find a way to execute a few small things in that first game, but we found a way to execute those things in the second game to get the victory.”
Cora Boyle (4-0) tossed a five-hitter in the nightcap to remain unbeaten. She walked none and had two strikeouts, needing just 74 pitches to go the distance.
“Today probably wasn’t my best day, but I have all the confidence in the world in my defense,” said Boyle. “If I can just get them to hit ground balls, I have more than enough faith in them that they can field it.”
The Dragons took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Centennial tied it up on a sacrifice fly by Jessica Lathrop in the second. Jordyn Kennedy then doubled off the fence to drive in the go-ahead run in the third.
“I took it to left field,” said Kennedy. “I knew she was throwing a lot inside so I adjusted off the plate a little bit. I did not know (the ball) was going to go that far.”
Mary Brantley went 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored for the Jaguars. Payton Drefke went 2-for-3.
Centennial had just enough offense to beat Johnston for the first time in three meetings this season. The Dragons also posted a 14-3 win in five innings in the championship of the Johnston Classic on May 24.
“They’re good. Their hitters are good,” Boyle said. “It’s all about going after their batters and getting ahead early. I think Lauren (Sandholm) did a great job the first game tonight. They just got on us, so we were ready to go for the second game.”
In the opener, Sandholm (2-2) took a shutout into the eighth inning before Johnston erupted for four runs. She allowed seven hits and had six strikeouts.
“Lauren pitched her tail off,” Delaney said. “She really battled in that eighth inning and we had a chance to get out of it with two outs, but Johnston is a good team and they did what they had to do to win the game. It’s something we’ll learn from.”
The Jaguars were held to just three hits. Mady Ott went 2-for-4 with a double, while Sandholm had a single.
“I think we were trying to do too much,” Kennedy said. “We were ahead of everything. But we came back and made some adjustments for the second game, so that’s all that matters.”
Centennial is now 3-1 in the CIML Conference and 6-3 overall. The Dragons’ records are 3-3 and 8-4.
“We just didn’t square any balls up in that first game,” Delaney said. “But I think if we see the same pitcher again, we’ll have a little better game plan. We just have to make a few adjustments.”
The Jaguars will host another conference doubleheader against No. 9 Southeast Polk (5-6) on Thursday.
