The second-ranked Pleasant Valley baseball team entered Wednesday’s doubleheader at Ankeny Centennial as one of the state’s hottest squads, riding a 10-game winning streak.
But the Jaguars had won four consecutive games and six of their last seven, so they were confident as well.
“There’s no reason not to be confident with all the work we’ve put in,” said Centennial junior Will Morris. “You just have to go out and trust yourself.”
Morris doubled twice off his good friend Lincoln Dalton and drove in two runs to help Centennial to a 5-4 victory in the opener. The Spartans then won the nightcap, 7-2, to salvage a split.
Dalton (3-1) suffered his first loss after entering the game with a 0.70 ERA in 20 innings of work.
“He’s my buddy,” Morris said. “I play travel ball with him, so I’ve got a little friendship/enemy type thing with him.”
Centennial pitchers TJ Hood and Brekken Miller combined on a nine-hitter. Hood (2-1) gave up a two-run double to Kai Valleroy in the seventh inning before Miller came in to get the final two outs.
The Spartans had runners at second and first, but Miller retired Gavin Barber on a grounder to second baseman William Nesler to end the game.
“We have so many arms on the team,” said Nesler, who went 2-for-3 in the win. “I have confidence in all my pitchers. And with our defense behind our pitchers, it’s hard to get a hit off of them.”
Pleasant Valley took a 1-0 lead in the first inning without getting a hit, then added another run in the third on Valleroy’s solo homer. It was his second home run of the season.
Centennial then rallied for four runs in the bottom of the frame. Isaac Bruhl drew a leadoff walk, Trae Houser followed with a single through the left side, and Morris knocked them both in with a double to the gap in right-center field.
After Jackson Reed drew a two-out walk, Nesler hit a two-run double down the line in right field.
“I just opened my stance,” Nesler said. “I had to put anything in play. If it was there, swing at it and see where it goes.”
All three of the hits in that inning came with two strikes.
“Our guys’ two-strike approach is just getting better and better as the year goes on,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey, whose team is now 11-6 overall. “We had a couple of at-bats that went nine or 10 pitches tonight, and regardless of how they turn out, you’re eating up pitches for the starting pitcher and possibly getting him out of the game because of your approach.”
The Jaguars scored an unearned run in the fourth that proved to be the difference in the end. Grant Crowner drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a bunt by Josh Quinlin, and then raced home when Bruhl reached on an error.
“We’re all grinders,” Nesler said. “We don’t give up. We fly under the radar, but we’re a good team.”
Hood allowed just two earned runs through six innings before tiring in the seventh. Miller got a save in just his second varsity appearance on the mound.
“He’s a freshman, but he had some balls and got it done,” Morris said.
Nesler fielded the hard-hit grounder by Barber and threw to Crowner at first for the game’s final out. Earlier, Nesler made a couple of leaping catches to take hits away from the Spartans.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” Nesler said. “Defense comes first. It wins championships.”
In the nightcap, Pleasant Valley (14-2) used a five-run seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie. Will Frederiksen went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs for the Spartans.
Houser (0-3) took the loss, allowing three earned runs on seven hits in six-plus innings. He walked two and had five strikeouts.
“Trae didn’t have his best stuff, but he just battled all night long. I couldn’t be prouder of how he threw,” Hey said. “We would’ve liked to get two wins, but things just kind of snowballed there on us in the seventh inning. I told the guys that we’re not going to let one inning kind of sour the whole night. I thought we played well for 13 of the 14 innings.
“So we can’t be too disappointed (with the split),” he added.
Pleasant Valley held a 2-0 lead before Centennial rallied in the bottom of the sixth. Reed hit a two-run double with two outs to tie the game.
Those were the first runs allowed this season by the Spartans’ Bo Collingwood (4-0), who gave up six hits and had seven strikeouts over the first six innings. He departed after throwing 107 pitches.
“His statistics were really impressive, but we put together a lot of solid at-bats and put the ball in play,” Hey said.
Morris and Reed Anderson each went 2-for-3 in the loss. Nesler also had a hit.
The Jaguars will travel to Valley on Thursday for a CIML Conference doubleheader against the No. 7 Tigers, who lead the league at 7-2 and are 12-5 overall. Centennial (6-4) is one of five teams within two games of first place in the conference.
