The wait was worth it for the Ankeny Centennial baseball team.
The Jaguars, who had a doubleheader at Des Moines Roosevelt rained out on Monday, opened their season on Thursday with a 12-2 victory over visiting Dallas Center-Grimes. The non-conference game was halted after six innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.
The Mustangs (1-2) are third in the Class 4A preseason rankings.
“Our pitching was outstanding tonight,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey. “Darin Severs and TJ Hood threw extremely well. Our defense also backed them up and made some very good plays. We had timely hitting throughout the lineup. It was a very good team win against an excellent opponent.”
Severs and Hood combined on a five-hitter. Severs got the win, allowing two earned runs on three hits while recording seven strikeouts over the first 4 1/3 innings.
Sophomore second baseman William Nesler went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Freshman Brekken Miller drove in two runs, and so did leadoff hitter Isaac Bruhl.
Will Morris went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI, while Trae Houser went 2-for-4 and scored a pair of runs. Nolan Powell and Grant Crowner each added an RBI.
Centennial took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, then added four runs in the third and one more in the fourth. After each team scored twice in the fifth inning, the Jaguars ended the game with a three-run sixth.
Centennial will play Bettendorf (2-1) and No. 9 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (2-2) on Saturday at Cedar Rapids.
