After teammates Jordyn Kennedy and Mady Ott connected for back-to-back roundtrippers during the third inning of Monday’s softball game at Ankeny, Ankeny Centennial junior Kori Lincicum felt some pressure to keep the home run party going.
“I was like, ‘Uh oh,'” Lincicum said. “They put a big window out there for me. But I just tried to make contact. I needed to put it in play, and everything would be all right.”
Lincicum followed with a third consecutive homer off Ankeny starter Aubrey Lensmeyer–this one to right-center field. Both Lincicum and Kennedy later homered again as the second-ranked Jaguars rolled to a 12-0 victory over No. 7 Ankeny in five innings.
“We’ve all faced Aubrey for a long time, and we know she likes to work out,” said Lincicum, who went 3-for-4 and had four RBIs. “So we were all sitting outside. And I’ve played with Kaylyn Miller, so I kind of knew what she threw too.”
The Jaguars pounded out 12 hits off the Ankeny duo, seven of them for extra bases. Kennedy went 2-for-3 and also drove in four runs.
“I had confidence in us. We’ve been hitting pretty well the last couple of games,” said Kennedy, who has four of Centennial’s seven homers this season. “We’ve been told to look for the first-pitch strike and (Lensmeyer) pitches out a lot, so take it to right-center.”
Mary Brantley opened the game with a double off the left-field fence. Brantley, who went 2-for-2 and drove in a run, later scored on a grounder by Kennedy.
“We have to come ready to play every single night in the CIML, and our hitters came dialed in early during BP and it carried over to the game tonight,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “That’s a quality opponent over there, but we had seen a little video of their pitchers and we just tried to stay with our approach and not do anything too special. That was our plan.”
Staked to an early lead, Centennial pitcher Aubrey Scieszinski (3-0) cruised to the victory, tossing a one-hitter with four strikeouts.
“It makes my job a lot easier because I can relax on the mound and just pound the zone and throw strikes, and my defense also has my back, too,” said Scieszinski.
The Centennial senior struggled with her control early in the game. She walked Avery Nelson and Morgan Fisher in the bottom of the first inning, but Nelson was then thrown out trying to steal third.
After Fisher advanced to third on an infield single by Lensmeyer, Scieszinski walked Miller with two outs to load the bases for Sarah Munger. But Scieszinski then caught an infield fly by Munger to end the threat.
“It was adrenaline more or less and also the zone a little bit,” Scieszinski said. “I was just trying to figure out what the umpire was giving and see what adjustments I can make on each pitch.”
Scieszinski allowed no hits and just two more walks the rest of the way.
“Aubrey stepped up tonight,” Delaney said. “She had an opportunity to pitch tonight in front of an amazing crowd. The town of Ankeny was out tonight, and it was fun to see. She was a little excited to start the game, but she calmed down and found a way to get it done. She held a really good team to one hit.”
Centennial’s Ava Faber hit an RBI double in the fourth inning. After walks to Kennedy and Ott, Lincicum hit a two-run single to make it 8-0.
“I knew we were going to come out and play hard, just because it’s a rivalry,” Lincicum said. “Everybody came out and was on their game. We played together, and it felt great.”
Scieszinski hit an RBI grounder to cap the four-run fourth, extending the lead to 9-0. Kennedy blasted a two-run homer in the fifth, and Lincicum followed one batter later with a solo shot to complete the scoring.
“It shows we’re capable of a lot,” Scieszinski said. “If we keep rolling like we are, big things are going to happen this season.”
The win was the fifth in a row for Centennial, which improved to 3-1 in the CIML Conference and 5-1 overall. The loss dropped the Hawkettes’ records to 2-2 and 2-2.
“They have great hitters,” Ankeny coach Sarah Saladino said of the Jaguars. “When you’re in the CIML, every team has those hitters in their lineup. And you’ve got to be ready to play in these single games. Offensively, we’ll get better. You have to be able to produce at the plate in order to win games.”
Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday. Centennial will host a conference doubleheader against No. 9 Southeast Polk (1-2), while the Hawkettes will host a CIML twinbill against Urbandale (1-3).
“I just think every game is a learning opportunity. It’s another opportunity to grow,” Saladino said. “This wasn’t a performance that we wanted, but we’re going to come back (Tuesday) and practice and we turn right around on Wednesday. We’re just taking every opportunity to get better.”
