After being held scoreless for only the second time this season, the second-ranked Ankeny Centennial baseball team bounced back with a 7-2 victory in the second game of Thursday’s non-conference doubleheader at No. 7 Iowa City Liberty.
The Lightning (19-9) weathered a rain delay in the third inning to post a 4-0 win in the opener. Centennial (19-6) was also blanked by No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 5-0, on June 8.
The Jaguars scored four runs in the third inning to erase a 2-0 deficit in the nightcap. They then added three more runs in the fifth.
Jackson Reed doubled and drove in two runs, while Joey Oakie also had two RBIs. Reed Anderson went 2-for-3 and knocked in a run.
Johnathan Carrasco went 2-for-4, scored two runs and drove in another. Isaac Bruhl doubled and scored a run, and Will Morris had an RBI.
Sean Stewart (5-0) tossed a five-hitter to remain unbeaten. He allowed just one earned run and had seven strikeouts.
Liberty’s Brayden Mayer (3-0) threw a three-hitter and had four strikeouts in the first game. He needed just 72 pitches to throw a complete game while lowering his ERA to 1.31.
Bruhl went 2-for-3 with a double in the loss. Oakie had the Jaguars’ only other hit.
Emerson Alberhasky (3-1) took the loss. He allowed two earned runs on five hits and had five strikeouts over the first five innings.
Centennial will host Class 3A No. 7 Davenport Assumption (16-9) in the Brent Prange Classic on Friday at 4:45 p.m. The Jaguars will then host Carlisle (7-14) in the tournament on Saturday at 10 a.m.
