For the second game in a row, the Ankeny Christian Academy baseball team used a big rally in the bottom of the fifth inning to keep its season alive.
The Eagles scored twice in the fifth to erase a 3-2 deficit and went on to beat Madrid, 5-3, in a Class 1A district semifinal on Tuesday at Northview Park in Urbandale.
“Madrid’s a good team,” said ACA coach Ryan Johnson. “We were a little shaky in the first (inning), but we really settled down after that. We had some big hits, and we made a couple of big plays at the end.”
No hit was bigger than Eli Christensen’s one-out homer to left field in the fifth that tied the game. It was his second home run of the season and chased Madrid starter Emerson Bridgewater, who allowed just one earned run on three hits over the first 4 1/3 innings but was replaced after throwing 88 pitches.
“I think it was a 2-0 count,” said Christensen, who was also the winning pitcher. “I was looking fastball. He gave it to me, and I just blasted it.”
The next batter, Brody Hoefle, was hit by a pitch from Madrid reliever Preston Wicker. Hoefle stole second, moved to third on Tyler Mahoney’s fly ball and then scored the go-ahead run on a balk.
Ankeny Christian added an insurance run in the sixth. Landon Curtis singled, stole second and went to third on an error, then beat the throw home on a chopper in front of the plate by Daniel Schoening.
The Eagles had five stolen bases on five attempts, two of them by Mahoney.
“We did a lot of scouting, and we felt like it was an opportunity to get a guy in scoring position when we had the opportunity,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who do a good job of stealing bases.”
Christensen overcame a rough start to raise his record to 6-2. He allowed one earned run on five hits and had seven strikeouts over the first five innings.
The Tigers loaded the bases in the first inning before Christensen walked one batter and hit another one to force in a pair of runs.
“I really haven’t had that bad of stuff all year. I just couldn’t find it,” Christensen said. “I started to get it late, which was good for us. I was just a little shaky. It was a big game, and it kind of got to me.”
The Eagles tied the game with two unearned runs in the third, capitalizing on two Madrid errors. Christensen scored when Mahoney reached on an error, then Mahoney stole second and came home on a single by Landon Nehring.
“That was our game plan coming in,” Mahoney said of the running game. “If we got on base, we were going to run. That’s exactly what happened, and that was huge to get runners in scoring position right away.”
Madrid loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth, but the Tigers could only manage one run. Jayce Fuson scored on a sacrifice fly by Chase Davis, but the Eagles turned a double play on a relay throw to help avoid any further damage.
“That was huge,” said Christensen, who then struck out the last batter he faced to end the inning. “We’ve talked about making those big plays all year, and that was a huge one for us.”
After Ankeny Christian rallied to take its first lead in the bottom of the inning, Mahoney moved from behind the plate to the mound to close it out. He needed just 19 pitches to get the final six outs and earn a save.
Madrid put two runners on base with one out in the seventh before ACA third baseman Dylan Quick turned a grounder by the bag into a game-ending double play.
“I know we’ve got some studs out there defensively,” Mahoney said. “If I can throw strikes and if they put it into play, I’ve got faith in my teammates and that’s exactly what happened that last inning. We made plays.”
Johnson also had faith in Mahoney to finish the job that Christensen started.
“That’s a great formula for us–two seniors who have been through a lot,” he said. “Eli comes in and pounds the strike zone and keeps us in the game, and Tyler comes in and shuts the door.”
Bridgewater went 4-for-4 in the loss. Fuson went 2-for-4 and scored twice, but it wasn’t enough as Madrid ends the season at 13-17.
The Eagles (17-8) will face Earlham (15-14) in the district final on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Ankeny High School. The Cardinals advanced with a 4-3 win over Grand View Christian.
The two teams already met once at Northview Park on June 1, when Ankeny Christian used a four-run first inning to post a 4-2 victory.
The winner of Saturday’s game will play either Lynnville-Sully (24-3) or North Mahaska (12-14) in the substate final on Tuesday at Pella.
