Jack Clevidence, Henry Ha and Carson Riggs each had two hits on Senior Night to lead the Ankeny baseball team to a 6-5 victory over visiting Urbandale on Thursday.
Another senior, Nick Meyer, got the start on the mound and combined with Brady Carter on a six-hitter.
“We pulled it out,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but the guys found a way to get it done.”
The J-Hawks built a 3-0 lead before Ankeny scored three runs in the fourth inning to tie it. After Urbandale answered with two runs in the top of the fifth, the Hawks scored three times in the bottom of the frame.
“We kind of coasted through the first three innings,” Balvanz said. “But then we buckled down and played much better.”
Riggs went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs. Clevidence also went 2-for-3 and scored a run, while Ha went 2-for-4 and had an RBI.
Karsten Bernholtz and Jacob Mohrfeld each had a double. Charlie Voigt knocked in a run.
Carter (1-0) earned the win with three solid innings of relief. He allowed one earned run on two hits and had five strikeouts.
“Nick kind of held the line, and Brady finished it off,” Balvanz said. “Our bullpen was getting a little thin.”
The J-Hawks threatened to tie it in the seventh inning before an Urbandale runner was called for interference going from first base to second.
“It was a strange play,” Balvanz said. “The guy made contact with Riggs, so (the umpires) sent the other runner back to third and then we got a grounder to Clevidence to end it.”
The Hawks improved to 9-13 in the CIML Conference and 15-21 overall. Urbandale’s records dropped to 5-14 and 14-17.
Ankeny will close out its conference schedule on Monday by hosting a doubleheader against Valley (11-17). The Hawks dropped a 3-2 decision at Valley on June 10.
