The Ankeny baseball team dropped a 4-3 decision at second-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes in a non-conference game on Wednesday.
The Hawks took a 3-1 lead in the second inning before Dallas Center-Grimes scored one run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to earn its fifth straight victory. The Mustangs improved to 32-2 on the season, while Ankeny’s record dropped to 17-22.
“The boys played hard, but we just had too many defensive miscues,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz, whose team had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Hunter Minner (0-3) took the loss in relief of Will Davies, who allowed no earned runs and five hits over the first five innings. Davies walked two and had seven strikeouts.
Evan Irlmeier, Carson Riggs and Kinnick Vos each drove in a run for the Hawks. Riggs went 2-for-3 with two doubles, Karsten Bernholtz went 2-for-3 with a double, and Vos also had a double.
The two teams could meet again in a Class 4A substate final in two weeks.
Ankeny will close out the regular season on Monday with a non-conference game at Fort Dodge (18-19).
