Desperate for a win, the Ankeny baseball team refused to quit.
Trailing 10-0 in the second game of a doubleheader on Thursday at Urbandale, the Hawks were three outs away from a run-rule loss that would have stretched their losing streak to seven games.
Ankeny extended the contest by scoring three runs in the fifth inning and added five more in the sixth to cut the J-Hawks’ lead to 10-8. The Hawks then continued their rally in the seventh inning, tying it up at 10-10 before Karsten Bernholtz delivered a bases-loaded double to drive in three runs for an improbable 13-10 victory.
“That was one that we really needed,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “Hopefully, we’re on the right track and can keep it going this weekend at Davenport.”
The win improved Ankeny’s records to 2-8 in the CIML Conference and 6-12 overall. Urbandale, which snapped a three-game losing skid of its own with a 9-7 triumph in the first game, is now 3-6 and 10-8.
“The boys didn’t quit,” Balvanz said. “They had more fight in them than I realized, and I’m proud of them. We’ve got to play better, but I’ll take a win right now any way we can get it.”
Ankeny overcame a rocky outing from starter Zach Halverson, who was roughed up for seven runs in the first inning before being replaced by Cole Nuzum. Nuzum needed 75 pitches to get through four innings, but he gave the Hawks a chance to rally.
“It was a good win for the guys,” Balvanz said. “Halvy didn’t have it tonight, and it’s Thursday so your pitching gets a little thin. I asked Cole to go out there and do the best he could, and he went out there and gutted it out. Honestly, he gave us a chance to get something going.”
After the Hawks prolonged the game with their three-run rally in the fifth, Balvanz needed to find another reliever.
“I could tell Cole was starting to get tired so I went to Vos and I said, ‘Kinnick, I’m going to put you on the mound,'” Balvanz said. “He just smiled and said, ‘I thought you’d never ask.’ He went out there and threw three innings on 40 pitches. He’s just a competitor who competes at every thing that he does. It’s very admirable.”
Vos (1-0) earned the win by recording nine outs, five of them by strikeout. He did not allow a hit.
“Kinnick pitched when he was little, but he’s just so valuable up the middle that you hate to move him,” Balvanz said. “But we have a little bit of a luxury because Jack Clevidence can play shortstop, too. It was just something we went with.”
Clevidence had two RBIs in the win, while Jack Goodwin had a double and drove in three runs. Carson Riggs also doubled and had an RBI.
Backup catcher Brady Carter also played a big role in the comeback. He entered midway through the game and went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored.
“Those were the first two hits of his varsity career,” Balvanz said.
In the opener, Ankeny held leads of 4-1 and 6-5 before the J-Hawks used a three-run fifth to take the lead for good. Hunter Minner (0-1) took the loss, allowing six earned runs on six hits over four-plus innings.
The Hawks outhit Urbandale by a 14-7 margin, but the J-Hawks took advantage of three walks, six hit batters and two Ankeny errors.
“That was a win that got away from us,” Balvanz said. “We just have to do a better job of limiting the free bases and taking care of the baseball when it matters.”
Vos went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. It was his first homer of the season and the second of his career.
Riggs went 3-for-4 and scored a run, while Bernholtz went 2-for-3. Clevidence went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
Blake Morgan, Will Davies and Samuel Sandvig each added an RBI for the Hawks.
Ankeny will play a pair of non-conference games on Saturday at Davenport Central (10-4) and Davenport West (4-10).
