The Ankeny baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader against visiting Waukee on Thursday.
The fourth-ranked Warriors posted a 6-3 victory in the first game, then completed the sweep with a 15-1 win in five innings. They improved to 3-0 in the CIML Conference and 9-0 overall, while Ankeny’s records dropped to 0-3 and 0-7.
Waukee has outscored its opponents by an 89-15 margin this season.
“That’s a really good team,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “They’ve got some big boys in that lineup.”
The Hawks jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first inning of the opener, scoring three unearned runs off Waukee starter Kaeden Davidson. But the Warriors got a run in both the second and third innings to tie it, then used a three-run fifth to earn the win.
“We scrapped and clawed and got the lead, but we just couldn’t get much going after that,” Balvanz said. “We only had three hits in each game, and six hits in a doubleheader isn’t going to get it done.”
Zach Halverson (0-2) took the loss. He allowed five earned runs on seven hits over four innings.
The nightcap was tied at 1-1 after three innings before Waukee erupted for 10 runs in the fourth. The Warriors then added four more in the fifth.
Ankeny starter Hunter Minner (0-2) gave up just one hit in three innings, but walked seven and allowed six earned runs.
“Hunter lost the feel of the strike zone, and things snowballed out of control in a hurry,” Balvanz said.
Ankeny allowed 19 walks in the doubleheader.
“Waukee is too good of a team to give them that many free base runners,” Balvanz said.
Kinnick Vos had a hit in each game for Ankeny. Will Davies went 1-for-1 and scored the lone run in the second game.
The Hawks will host a non-conference doubleheader against Bondurant-Farrar (3-1) on Friday.
“The sun is going to come up (on Friday),” Balvanz said. “We’ve got more baseball to play.”
