The Ankeny softball team bounced back from a 2-0 loss to North Polk with a 7-0 victory over Ballard at the Dallas Center-Grimes Invitational on Friday.
Both games reversed the outcome from a contest earlier this season. The sixth-ranked Hawkettes (19-14) avenged a 4-1 loss to Ballard on May 25 at Winterset.
Abby Rusher tossed a three-hitter and had 11 strikeouts in the six-inning contest. She raised her record to 12-6.
“Abby was phenomenal,” said Ankeny coach Dave Bingham. “Her and (catcher) Ava (Tomlinson) did a great job.”
Ankeny scored three runs in each of the first two innings. Tomlinson went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, while Tenley Heidemann drove in two runs and Aubrey Lensmeyer had an RBI.
“We were definitely ready to play,” Bingham said. “The girls were patient at the plate and got a lot of key hits. A lot of kids stepped up.”
Avery Nelson doubled and scored two runs for the Hawkettes. Morgan Fisher and Josie Parton also had a hit and scored twice.
“We gave some kids an opportunity in that one, and some of our regular kids came in to help complete the game,” Bingham said. “Morgan is really coming around for us. Her and Josie got us off to a good start.”
Ballard dropped to 9-18 on the season.
Earlier, North Polk–the No. 1 team in Class 4A–used a pair of solo home runs to beat Ankeny. The Comets (30-3) avenged a 4-0 loss on June 22 at Oskaloosa.
Katelyn Klever homered with one out in the fifth inning to break up a scoreless tie. It was her fourth home run of the season.
Ava Husak then led off the sixth with a blast to deep right-center field. It was her ninth roundtripper of the year.
Husak also turned in a dominant pitching performance. She tossed a four-hitter and racked up 17 strikeouts.
Every Ankeny starter fanned at least once.
“Our approach wasn’t very good,” Bingham said. “We had a lot of success late in the (first) game (against North Polk), and the kids were confident so they were free swinging. But when you face a good pitcher, you’ve got to shorten up and put the ball in play.
“North Polk is a good team, but we didn’t hit the ball very well so we made some adjustments,” he added.
Ankeny tried to rally in the seventh inning, when Rusher singled off Husak’s glove with one out and pinch-runner Lauren Fisher advanced to second on a single by her sister Morgan, who went 2-for-3 in the game. But Husak then followed with two more strikeouts to close out the game.
Lensmeyer (7-8) took the loss. She allowed six hits and had four strikeouts.
The Hawkettes will host a doubleheader against No. 1 Valley (26-4) on Monday. It will be their CIML Conference finale.
The Tigers are riding a 13-game winning streak.
“We want to finish strong and treat every game like an elimination game,” Bingham said.
