The Ankeny Christian Academy baseball program has reached unprecedented heights.
The Eagles advanced to a Class 1A substate final for the first time in school history by defeating Earlham, 5-3, in a district final on Saturday at Ankeny High School.
“The guys have put in a ton of work this year,” said Ankeny Christian coach Ryan Johnson. “It’s the first time in ACA history that we’re going to substate, so we’re very excited.”
The Eagles took advantage of three Earlham errors to score four unearned runs. They improved their record to 18-8, while the Cardinals finished the season at 15-15.
“It’s awesome,” said ACA senior Tyler Mahoney. “It’s just what you prepare for. We work all offseason and all in season for this moment. We’ve never been here before, so we’re pretty excited right now. We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and try to keep winning.”
Eli Christensen and Mahoney combined on a six-hitter as the Eagles defeated Earlham for the second time this season. The duo combined on a five-hitter in a 4-2 win on June 1.
“We really liked the matchup that we had,” Mahoney said. “We just knew we had to throw strikes and let our defense do the work like we did against Madrid (in a district semifinal).”
Christensen (7-2) allowed two earned runs on four hits and had five strikeouts over the first five innings. He was pulled after throwing 62 pitches.
“I kind of knew how to attack the batters,” Christensen said. “I threw a lot of fastballs to them. It went pretty well, I thought. I didn’t quite have the feel for my off-speed. I think it might have been the heat, but I just couldn’t quite get the grip. But my fastball was working and I threw a few good sliders, so it was fine.”
Mahoney needed 30 pitches to get through the final two innings, but was able to close it out. The Eagles only had trouble with Jeret Petersen, who led the way for Earlham by going 3-for-3 with a double, a triple and two runs scored.
“Our offense kept going throughout the game so that gave us a little bit of a cushion,” Mahoney said. “We could relax a little bit, so that last inning wasn’t as stressful.”
Christensen went 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk. Landon Nehring went 2-for-4.
Daniel Schoening went 1-for-2 and scored a pair of runs. He hit a one-out single in the second inning, then came all the way around to score when Lucas Erickson hit a chopper in front of the plate with two outs and the throw to first got away for an error.
In the fourth, Schoening reached on another error and scored again as part of a three-run outburst that extended the lead to 4-0.
“We put down three or four straight bunts and made them make the plays,” Johnson said. “We got a few breaks and scored some easy runs there.”
After Earlham scored two runs in the top of the fifth, ACA’s Matthew Welshhons hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-2. Mahoney then took over on the mound, giving up just an unearned run in the seventh.
“I had a ton of confidence, especially when we got that three-run lead,” Christensen said. “I knew we had it with Tyler pitching.”
The Eagles will play fifth-ranked Lynnville-Sully (25-3) in the substate final on Tuesday at Pella at 7 p.m. The Hawks advanced with a 3-0 win over North Mahaska on Saturday.
“They’re a good team,” Johnson said. “We’ll do our best to prepare for them. With Eli and Tyler on the mound, I like our chances against anybody.”
Lynnville-Sully posted a 9-0 win over ACA on May 25 at Northview Park in Urbandale. The Hawks pounded out 15 hits, including a pair of solo homers by Corder Noun Harder and Terran Gosselink.
“We saw them earlier in the year and it didn’t quite go the way we wanted, but I have the confidence that we can get them,” Christensen said. “I’m excited.”
Mahoney is also confident that the Eagles can avenge the earlier loss.
“I think we’re going to surprise them,” he said. “We’ve just got to play good baseball and hit better than we did (against Earlham), but I think we’ve got a good chance.”
