The Ankeny softball players gave head coach Sarah Saladino a perfect birthday present.
The seventh-ranked Hawkettes rebounded from Wednesday’s season-opening loss to sweep a doubleheader on Thursday against visiting Waukee, the No. 11 team in Class 5A. They won by scores of 3-1 and 2-1 to give their first-year coach her first two victories with the program–and it came on her birthday.
“It was awesome!” said Saladino. “We also rolled out a new uniform tonight, so it was all good things.”
Ankeny used a two-run rally in the sixth inning of the nightcap to complete the sweep. Kaylyn Miller got the win in her season debut in the pitcher’s circle.
Miller’s gem followed another one by Aubrey Lensmeyer in the opener. She also held the Warriors to a lone run.
“Both girls really worked on locating the ball, throwing different pitches and getting the hitters off-balance,” Saladino said. “They both stayed in really good sequences all night.”
At the plate, Ankeny’s offense produced just five runs on the night, but the Hawkettes got some timely hits to support their pitchers.
“We were getting runners on, putting the ball on the ground and getting some stolen bases,” Saladino said. “That got us to a position where we could score those runs.”
Ankeny is now 2-1 in the CIML Conference and overall. Waukee’s records dropped to 1-2 and 3-2.
The Hawkettes will host a conference game against No. 2 Ankeny Centennial on Monday.
