The Ankeny softball team will need to regroup after being swept in Monday’s doubleheader at third-ranked Johnston.
The Dragons posted an 8-5 victory in the opener, then followed with a 12-2 win in six innings. They extended their winning streak to five games.
The No. 7 Hawkettes, meanwhile, have lost four in a row.
“We’re streaky right now, and we’ve got to get back to some basics,” said Ankeny coach Dave Bingham. “I’ve got to get them to work harder and to get ready for Fort Dodge Wednesday on our Senior Night.”
Ankeny started the week just one game out of first place in the CIML Conference, but the pair of losses dropped the Hawkettes into a third-place tie with Johnston and No. 6 Valley, which swept No. 2 Waukee Northwest on Monday.
Ankeny fell to 6-4 in the league and 13-11 overall. The Dragons raised their records to 6-4 and 16-6.
Johnston scored six runs in the first inning of the nightcap off Aubrey Lensmeyer (6-6) and cruised to the win. The Dragons eventually ended the game on a walk-off double.
Lensmeyer and Lily Hans each hit a solo homer to account for the Hawkettes’ two runs. It was Hans’ first homer of the season.
“We had nine hits in the game,” Bingham said. “We kept getting runners on. We just couldn’t get anybody in.”
Lensmeyer also homered in the first game. She leads the team with six roundtrippers.
Bingham said Lensmeyer has benefited from the tutelage of assistant coaches Sarah Saladino and Kennedy Thomas.
“Aubrey’s really been working hard,” he said. “Sal and KT have been working with her, and she’s really getting dialed in.”
Lensmeyer hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to cut Johnston’s lead to 8-5. Ankeny got two more runners on base with two outs, bringing the potential tying run to the plate before the Dragons held on for the win.
Abby Rusher (7-5) took the loss.
Rusher hit an infield single in the sixth to drive in a run. That pulled the Hawkettes to within 6-3 before Johnston answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame.
Bingham said some of his younger players like Grace Rood are providing a spark.
“Grace is doing a great job,” he said.
Ankeny will host a non-conference game on Wednesday against Fort Dodge (18-5), the No. 3 team in Class 4A. It will be a rematch of a game from Saturday, when the Dodgers posted a 5-4 victory in eight innings in the semifinals of the Fort Dodge Invitational.
“We had a classic game with them up there,” Bingham said. “We’re looking forward to playing them again.”
