A slow start this season knocked the Ankeny baseball team out of CIML Conference title contention right away.
But that doesn’t mean the Hawks can’t be a factor in the race.
Three Ankeny pitchers combined on a one-hitter as the Hawks posted a 2-1 victory over visiting Waukee on Thursday. It was the third straight loss for the fifth-ranked Warriors, who had been swept at No. 2 Ankeny Centennial on Wednesday.
The Hawks improved to 5-9 in the conference and 10-14 overall with their third consecutive win. Waukee’s records dropped to 10-5 and 15-7.
The Warriors, who entered the game in a tie with Centennial for second place in the league a half-game behind No. 4 Johnston, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Ankeny starter Zach Halverson (1-3) needed 52 pitches to get through the first two frames, but still earned his first victory of the season. He gave up Waukee’s lone hit, walked four batters and hit another one.
The Hawks took the lead in the bottom of the second on a two-run single by Evan Irlmeier, giving him 13 RBIs on the season. His hit scored Blake Morgan and Karsten Bernholtz.
Morgan went 2-for-3 to lead Ankeny’s six-hit attack. Bernholtz had a double.
The Hawks got five hitless innings of relief from Nick Meyer and Jack Goodwin. Meyer recorded nine outs, including four strikeouts, to overcome four walks and a hit batter.
Goodwin then needed just 19 pitches to get the final six outs, two of them by strikeout.
Ankeny will host a non-conference doubleheader against Linn-Mar (Marion) (14-6) on Friday.
