Sean Stewart used a lot of first-pitch fastballs to get ahead of the Marshalltown hitters on Friday night.
The strategy worked perfectly.
The Ankeny Centennial senior tossed a five-inning perfect game and the fifth-ranked Jaguars rolled to a 10-0 victory in a Class 4A substate baseball quarterfinal at Centennial.
“I just got ahead early and then kept it on them,” said Stewart. “I was kind of throwing first-pitch fast(ball) most of the time, and I’d read their swings and see what to do from there–whether to go high or low or mix in some off-speed.”
Stewart needed just 43 pitches to record 15 outs. He had eight strikeouts while raising his record to 7-1.
“He was outstanding. That was maybe the third no-hitter we’ve had,” Centennial coach Mark Hey said of Stewart. “He was on his game. He threw a lot of strikes, so his pitch count was very low…under 50. That’ll be good for us since we’ll have him available on Wednesday as well.”
Hey elected to start Stewart instead of all-stater Joey Oakie, who has started four postseason games in his career. Oakie combined with two relievers for a no-hitter against Des Moines North in last year’s substate quarterfinal.
“I was ready,” Stewart said. “It’s my first time throwing in the postseason. There were some nerves, but I was ready to go. I was excited.”
Centennial (29-10) took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, then added four runs in the third and three more in the fourth. The Jaguars pounded out 10 hits off Marshalltown pitcher Zander Stupp, four of them for extra bases.
“It’s never stress-free, but our guys did a nice job,” Hey said. “Sometimes it’s difficult to adjust to a little bit slower pitching than we’re used to, but I thought our guys did a nice job of making that adjustment as the game went on. We tried to prepare for it. We talked about not chasing things out of our zone, and it’s ok to take a strike if it’s not a pitch that we can drive. I thought early in the game some of our guys kind of got themselves out. But then they made adjustments and were better later in the game.”
Centennial’s Will Morris hit a two-run double in the first inning after the Bobcats elected to intentionally walk Oakie with first base open. Morris then scored when Kohen Bollwinkel reached on an error.
“Joey’s a great hitter, but I had all the confidence up there,” said Morris. “I knew I’d do my thing.”
Morris said he told his teammates to move up in the batter’s box and choke up on the bat to hit Stupp’s slower pitches.
“That helped out a lot,” he said. “We just had to make adjustments.”
Morris also singled in the third after Oakie reached on an error with one out. Bollwinkel and Emerson Alberhasky then followed with back-to-back RBI singles.
After an errant pickoff attempt allowed Bollwinkel to score, Leyton Kolln hit another RBI single to make it 7-0.
Preston Glatt doubled in the fourth and scored on another double by Oakie. Bollwinkel later hit an RBI triple, then came home on a balk to put the mercy rule into effect.
Bollwinkel, Glatt and Morris each had two hits and scored a pair of runs. Alberhasky went 2-for-2 and was hit by a pitch.
Marshalltown suffered its 18th loss by 10 or more runs. The Bobcats finished with a 5-31 record.
The Jaguars will host Des Moines Roosevelt (27-14) or Dowling Catholic (21-15) in Wednesday’s substate final at 7 p.m. Those two teams will meet in a semifinal game on Monday.
Centennial won two of three meetings against the Maroons during CIML Conference play. The Jaguars also defeated Roosevelt, 6-1, on May 17 at Rippey.
“I think there are some really good teams that we could possibly play,” Morris said. “We just have to play our game.”
If Dowling advances, the Maroons would likely give the ball to TCU recruit Trever Baumler, who outdueled Ames standout Carter Geffre in a 1-0 win Friday in eight innings. Baumler tossed a five-hitter and had 10 strikeouts after throwing a no-hitter in his previous start against Waukee Northwest.
Centennial, meanwhile, will likely have Oakie and Stewart ready to take the mound.
“I’d love to pitch again,” Stewart said. “It depends on who we get, but we’re ready for anyone. I’m 100 percent confident we can beat whoever we play Wednesday and the rest of the season.”
