The eighth-ranked Ankeny softball team built an 8-0 lead and then held on for a 12-5 victory at No. 11 Southeast Polk in the first game of a CIML Conference doubleheader on Thursday.
The Rams then posted a 13-3 win in six innings in the nightcap to earn a split of the twinbill. They improved to 5-7 in the league and 17-14 overall, while Ankeny’s records are now 7-5 and 15-12.
The Hawkettes pounded out 15 hits off three Southeast Polk pitchers in the opener. They used a five-run fourth inning to extend their lead to 8-0, but the Rams then answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame.
However, Ankeny eventually put the game away with a four-run seventh. Aubrey Lensmeyer went 3-for-4 with a double and drove in a run.
Kensington Arringdale and Grace Rood each went 2-for-4 and had three RBIs. Rood hit her second homer of the season, while Arringdale had a double.
Cassie Johnson went 2-for-4 with a double and knocked in a run. Ava Tomlinson went 2-for-5 and had an RBI, while Kaylyn Miller doubled and drove in a run.
Abby Rusher (9-5) earned the victory, allowing just one earned run on six hits. She had four strikeouts and also helped her own cause with a pair of RBIs.
Southeast Polk’s Aubrey Bacon hit a solo homer in the loss, her fifth of the year.
The Rams then dominated the second game, using a five-run sixth inning to end the contest. Kennedy Borud went 3-for-3 with a homer, her fourth of the season, and drove in two runs.
Maci Bice tossed a five-hitter and had four strikeouts. Lensmeyer (6-7) took the loss, allowing five earned runs on two hits over 2 1/3 innings.
Arringdale went 2-for-3 with a triple and a solo homer, her second of the season. Avery Nelson also tripled and scored a run, while Johnson and Lensmeyer each had an RBI.
Ankeny will travel to Oskaloosa on Saturday to play two non-conference games against the host Indians (10-13) and North Polk (25-2), the No. 1 team in Class 4A. The Comets are riding a 21-game winning streak.
