The Ankeny Centennial baseball team needed to sweep its crosstown rival on Wednesday to keep pace in the CIML Conference race.
But visiting Ankeny spoiled the Jaguars’ plans.
The Hawks posted a 7-5 victory in the second game of a doubleheader after fourth-ranked Centennial won the opener by the same score. The win allowed Ankeny to salvage a split of the twinbill and to avoid a sweep of the season series.
“I thought we played well enough to win the first one too, but we made a couple of defensive miscues there that cost us the game,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz, whose team improved to 8-13 in the league and 14-21 overall. “It was nice to see the bounce-back response. I think the guys kind of knew they let one get away from them, but they had the ability to turn the page and go out and get the next one. I thought they looked the part tonight.”
Centennial’s Emerson Alberhasky and Tripp Rawlings combined on an eight-hitter in the first game. Rawlings earned a save with two shutout innings of relief.
“Ankeny’s a great team, but we’ve got some really good hitters,” Rawlings said between games. “We’re having a good night, and I just hope we can keep it going.”
However, the Hawks’ win in the nightcap prevented Centennial from keeping pace with No. 5 Johnston, which swept a doubleheader against No. 7 Waukee. The Dragons are now 16-5 in the conference, while Centennial’s records are 12-6 and 22-8.
The Jaguars have six remaining conference games, while Johnston has just three. Any combination of three Johnston wins or Centennial losses will allow the Dragons to wrap up the league crown.
In Wednesday’s opener, the Jaguars took a 4-0 lead in the third inning before Ankeny answered with a five-run outburst in the fourth. Centennial then responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame.
Johnathan Carrasco tripled to drive in the tying run, then scored on a single by Isaac Bruhl. Bruhl eventually scored an insurance run on a wild pitch by Jack Clevidence (0-5), who had put the Hawks ahead with a three-run double in the top of the inning.
“I went up there with confidence and felt like I needed to do something,” said Bruhl, who went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs. “It ended up happening.”
Clevidence had five strikeouts over the first five innings. He was relieved by Jack Goodwin after throwing 100 pitches.
“We were putting it on him,” said Bruhl, who went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs. “We got a few hits off of him, and we were getting good at-bats. He had a good game, but I felt like we were going to get him out of the game eventually.”
Centennial got another strong start from Alberhasky (4-1), who allowed just one earned run on seven hits over the first five innings and had six strikeouts. The Jaguars committed two errors during Ankeny’s fourth-inning rally.
“Emerson threw really well, and I just trusted in my defense,” Rawlings said. “Our offense put up a good amount of runs, so I trusted my team.”
Rawlings needed just 20 pitches to get the final six outs. Ankeny’s Karsten Bernholtz hit a two-out single in the seventh inning, but was left stranded.
“We always have confidence in our closers,” Bruhl said. “They’re always ready to go.”
Joey Oakie had a two-run single for the Jaguars. Leyton Kolln went 2-for-3 with a double.
Ankeny’s Evan Irlmeier went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in the loss. Bernholtz went 2-for-4 and scored a run.
In the second game, the Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then held on for the win. Will Davies (2-4) benefited from the early support to earn the victory.
“I love pitching with a lead,” said Davies, who allowed three earned runs on four hits over the first four-plus innings. “When I can trust my defense and just do my thing, it’s awesome.”
Centennial closed the gap to 4-3 in the fifth inning before the Hawks used a three-run seventh to seal the victory. Irlmeier went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs.
“It felt awesome,” Davies said. “Everyone was clicking, and the defense was working. It was a really good team win.”
Goodwin tossed the final three innings to preserve the win. He allowed a two-run homer in the seventh by Oakie, his third of the season.
“Credit to Centennial. They battled and just kept hitting the ball hard,” Balvanz said. “That ball that Oakie hit over the wall was torched. But we used Jack in both games, and he’s been doing that all year for us. I had confidence in him, even when he gave up that home run. He was dialed in and came back and got the next one.”
Ankeny’s Kinnick Vos went 3-for-4, scored a run and knocked in another. Blake Morgan doubled and drove in a run, while Henry Ha and Bernholtz each had an RBI.
Centennial’s Sean Stewart (5-1) suffered his first loss. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and had four strikeouts over six-plus innings.
Bruhl went 2-for-4 and scored a run for the Jaguars, while Jackson Reed went 2-for-2 with a double and also scored a run. Carrasco, Kohen Bollwinkel and Reed Anderson each had an RBI.
“They’ve got some good guys over there, but I wasn’t going to bow down to anyone,” Davies said. “I just tried to attack everyone and see what happens.”
Both teams will play another conference game on Thursday. The Jaguars will travel to Southeast Polk (18-13), while the Hawks will host Urbandale (14-16).
