The Ankeny baseball team bounced back from a 7-5 loss to Davenport Central with a 16-1 victory over Davenport West in five innings on Saturday at Davenport.
The Hawks are now 7-13 on the season after splitting the non-conference games.
“I was glad to come back with a win, but I was certainly hoping for two,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz.
Ankeny had eight hits against Davenport West (4-11) and also took advantage of 13 walks and five hit batters. The Hawks scored five runs in the second inning, then added four more in the third, one in the fourth and six in the fifth to finish with a season-high 16 runs.
“It wasn’t the prettiest baseball game,” Balvanz said. “It was the end of a long week, and it’s not easy for high school kids to play seven games in a week.”
Jack Clevidence went 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs. Evan Irlmeier went 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs, while Brady Carter and Ben Taylor also had two RBIs apiece.
Travis Gerstel (3-1) was the winning pitcher. He allowed no earned runs on one hit over the first four innings while recording six strikeouts.
In the first game, Ankeny built a 5-0 lead before Davenport Central scored two runs in the fourth inning. The Blue Devils (11-4) then erupted for five runs in the fifth.
Will Davies (1-2) took the loss. He allowed seven earned runs on nine hits and had five strikeouts over the first five innings.
“I thought Will looked phenomenal through about four innings or so,” Balvanz said. “We had a couple plays that we didn’t make, and then they managed to find a couple barrels. It was disappointing to not hold onto a 5-0 lead, but I hope that we grew in the process. That’s a game that we’ve got to be able to finish.”
Carson Riggs drove in two of the Hawks’ runs. Karsten Bernholtz went 2-for-3 and scored a run, while Samuel Sandvig doubled and had one RBI.
Clevidence went 1-for-3, scored two runs and knocked in another.
Milo Kelley went 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs for Davenport Central. Maddox Sullivan went 3-for-3 with two doubles and drove in three runs.
“(Kelley) is an Iowa recruit, and their staff was there to watch him,” Balvanz said. “He does a nice job behind the plate.”
Ankeny will play a CIML Conference game on Monday at Valley (4-11).
