‘We swung the bats a lot better’: Jaguars snap out of funk to sweep No. 5 Waukee

Ankeny Centennial’s Preston Glatt (No. 26) celebrates with his teammates after hitting a home run during the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader against visiting Waukee. Glatt helped the Jaguars to a sweep of the twinbill. (Photo courtesy of Jerrad Downer)

The Ankeny Centennial baseball team couldn’t have picked a better time to break out of its recent offensive funk.

The second-ranked Jaguars swept a doubleheader against No. 5 Waukee on Wednesday at Centennial, allowing coach Mark Hey’s team to avenge an earlier 10-4 loss and move closer to the top of the CIML Conference standings.

Centennial rolled to an 11-1 victory in six innings in the opener, snapping Waukee’s 10-game winning streak. The Jaguars then completed the sweep with a 5-4 walk-off win in the nightcap.

Centennial improved to 9-3 in the league and 16-4 overall, while the Warriors’ records dropped to 10-4 and 15-6. Both teams now trail No. 4 Johnston (10-3) by a half-game.

Ankeny Centennial’s Isaac Bruhl slides across home plate to score a run during Wednesday’s doubleheader. He went 5-for-8 on the night with a double, a triple and three runs scored. (Photo courtesy of Jerrad Downer)

“We swung the bats a lot better,” said Hey, whose team had scored a total of just four runs while going 1-2 over its last three games. “I was really happy with our guys’ approach at the plate. It was a good night for us.”

Waukee rallied for two runs in the sixth inning to forge a 4-4 tie in the second game. But Centennial’s Joey Oakie hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the seventh, and Leyton Kolln was eventually hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded to force in the winning run.

“The pitch just got away from their pitcher (Hunter Reed),” Hey said. “It was an 0-2 or 1-2 count, and I think he was trying to get us to chase. But I had a lot of confidence in our guy at the plate.”

Kolln went 1-for-3 in the win after going 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the first game. The Jaguars pounded out 24 hits on the night.

Ankeny Centennial’s Leyton Kolln swings at a pitch during Wednesday’s doubleheader. He went 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the first game, then had another hit in the nightcap and was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning to force in the winning run. (Photo courtesy of Jerrad Downer)

“Waukee is obviously a really good team, but our guys came out ready to play,” Hey said.

Will Morris went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in the nightcap. Isaac Bruhl went 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored, Oakie went 2-for-3 and scored a run, and Preston Glatt and Pratim Amin each drove in a run.

Sean Stewart (4-0) tossed a four-hitter to remain unbeaten. He racked up eight strikeouts.

In the opener, Emerson Alberhasky (3-0) allowed just one earned run on three hits. He recorded 10 strikeouts.

Ankeny Centennial’s Emerson Alberhasky throws a pitch during the opener of Wednesday’s twinbill. He tossed a three-hitter and had 10 strikeouts to raise his record to 3-0 on the season. (Photo courtesy of Jerrad Downer)

Glatt hit a solo homer, his first of the season. Oakie drove in two runs, including an RBI double that ended the game.

Bruhl went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while Kohen Bollwinkel went 2-for-4 and had three RBIs. Jackson Reed went 2-for-3 and scored twice.

“The bottom three guys in our lineup (Morris, Reed and Kolln) went 6-for-8 in that game,” Hey said. “That’s some pretty good production from your 7, 8 and 9 hitters.”

The Jaguars will travel to Urbandale on Thursday for another conference game against the J-Hawks (11-10).