It’s too early for the Ankeny baseball team to panic.
The Hawks just need to get their bats going.
Ankeny dropped both ends of a CIML Conference doubleheader against visiting Waukee Northwest on Monday. The ninth-ranked Wolves posted a 6-2 victory in the opener before completing the sweep with a 4-1 win.
“I didn’t think either of their starters was overpowering, but we just didn’t find many barrels,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz, whose team is now on a four-game skid. “We’ve got some guys down on themselves right now, and that’s not what we want. We’ve got some guys we’re trying in the lineup, and they’re just struggling at the plate. We’ve got to figure out a way to be more productive.”
Will Davies (1-2) took the loss in the nightcap. He allowed four earned runs on six hits and had seven strikeouts over the first six innings.
“Will definitely pitched well enough to win for most teams,” Balvanz said. “We’re just not scoring enough runs right now.”
The Hawks had just four singles in the loss. Jacob Mohrfeld went 1-for-3 and scored a run.
Northwest’s Chuck Berdovich allowed one earned run on three hits over the first 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and had three strikeouts.
Sam Johnson went 2-for-4 with two triples and scored a pair of runs. Gus Ruggle went 2-for-3 and had two RBIs.
The Wolves scored three runs in the third inning to build a 4-0 lead.
“We had a little hiccup on a single in front of (outfielder Evan) Irlmeier, and it took a funny hop and went past him,” Balvanz said. “That’s how they scored those three runs, but that was unfortunate and uncharacteristic of Evan. He’s been pretty consistent defensively for us the last couple of years, so I won’t worry too much about that one.”
Northwest’s Will Bowen combined with two relievers on a five-hitter in the opener. Mohrfeld had two RBIs for the Hawks, while Carson Riggs went 1-for-2 and scored a run.
Ankeny put runners at second and third with no outs in the first inning, but was unable to score.
“That kind of set the tone for the doubleheader right there,” Balvanz said.
Tanner Jackson and Trey Stepleton each knocked in two runs for the Wolves. Brady Walton went 2-for-4 and had one RBI, while Johnson went 2-for-4 and had one of the team’s three triples.
Travis Gerstel (2-1) took the loss. He allowed six earned runs on 10 hits and had five strikeouts over the first six innings.
“We didn’t pitch it bad at all,” Balvanz said. “Gerstel left a couple of 1-2, 0-2 pitches out over the plate where he shouldn’t have and we got hurt there, but he pitched deep into the game and didn’t pitch poorly.”
Northwest improved to 5-3 in the league and 11-6 overall. Ankeny’s records fell to 1-6 and 5-10.
The Hawks will host a conference game against No. 4 Ankeny Centennial (4-2, 9-2) on Wednesday.
