There aren’t any easy outs in the Ankeny Centennial softball lineup.
Mady Ott homered twice and three of her teammates also hit roundtrippers as the second-ranked Jaguars swept a doubleheader on Thursday at No. 3 Valley, 8-0 and 8-4.
“We for sure feed off each other,” said Ott. “I think once someone hits (a home run), it’s easier for us to find the pitch we are looking for and we just feed off of that energy.”
The sweep allowed Centennial to extend its winning streak to seven games. The Jaguars improved to 9-3 in the CIML Conference and 13-3 overall, while Valley’s records dropped to 5-6 and 10-6.
Centennial remained one game out of first place behind No. 1 Waukee Northwest, which is now 10-2 in the league after sweeping No. 4 Johnston on Thursday.
“If we could win the conference, it would give us an extra boost of confidence once we get into the postseason and hopefully to state,” said Centennial senior Aubrey Scieszinski.
Scieszinski (6-1) tossed a three-hitter in Thursday’s opener. She walked two and had three strikeouts.
“It felt really good, just because I’ve struggled recently,” Scieszinski said. “I’ve been leaving my pitches on the fatter part of the plate and giving up more hits. I’ve been trying to figure out the umpires’ strike zones, and it felt a lot better today. It felt good to get going.”
The Jaguars led by only 2-0 until the sixth inning, when Kori Lincicum hit a solo homer to right with two outs. It was her fifth home run of the season and ignited the team’s bats.
After a double by Lauren Bartine, pinch-runner Delaney Wyble then raced home on a single by Camden Starr to make it 4-0.
The Tigers threatened in the bottom of the inning, when they loaded the bases with one out. But Scieszinski got out of the jam when Starr turned a hard-hit grounder to short into an unassisted double play.
Ott smashed a three-run homer in the seventh to break the game open. Bartine followed with an RBI double off the fence to complete the scoring.
“I have complete trust in them that they’ll shove a few runs across the board at any time in the game,” Scieszinski said of her team’s offense. “That makes my job easier because I can just go out there and pitch.”
Starr went 3-for-4 in the win. Mary Brantley went 2-for-4 and drove in a run.
Brantley then led off the second game with a home run, her second of the year. Ott had a two-run blast in the third, her sixth of the season.
Valley rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning, but Centennial regained the lead for good, 5-4, with two runs in the fourth. Brantley had an RBI single to tie it, then Gracie Anderson scored the go-ahead run as Brantley raced to second.
The Jaguars added three insurance runs in the seventh, two of them on a homer by Jordyn Kennedy. It was her ninth home run, which leads Class 5A and is tied for third in the entire state.
“Jordyn’s a great hitter,” Scieszinski said. “She can hit anything no matter where you throw it, and Mady’s the same way.”
Starr added an RBI single to make it 8-4. She went 2-for-3 in the win.
Ava Faber went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a pair of runs. Brantley, Kennedy and Lincicum also went 2-for-4.
Lincicum (4-2) earned the victory, allowing two earned runs on seven hits. She walked five and had eight strikeouts.
“This a was a big sweep for us,” Ott said. “We knew Valley was going to be tough, and their lineup is full of big hitters. Definitely, shout out to our pitchers for shutting down their offense.”
The Jaguars will host a non-conference doubleheader against No. 13 Cedar Falls (11-3) on Friday. They will then play another non-conference doubleheader on Saturday at No. 5 Linn-Mar (Marion) (12-1).
