Senior outfielder Kohen Bollwinkel has helped the Ankeny Centennial baseball team to a 13-6 record. He has started all 19 games and is batting .311 with a double, a triple and seven RBIs.
As a junior, Bollwinkel batted .306 with two triples and 18 RBIs while scoring a team-high 30 runs. He was named to the CIML Conference third team.
Here is some inside info on Bollwinkel:
Your team split a doubleheader against second-ranked Pleasant Valley on Wednesday, despite facing two of the state’s top pitchers in Lincoln Dalton and Bo Collingwood. Do you think those games showed that your team can play with anybody, no matter who is on the mound?
The games against Pleasant Valley showed that our team is never out of a game. In the second game, we were down the whole way trailing by two runs, not able to get much going offensively and then in the bottom of the sixth inning we had a couple big hits that ended up tying the game to give us a chance to win. It really showed how our team is never out of a game no matter who is on the mound or what the score of the game is.
You have struck out only three times in 61 at-bats this season–the best ratio on the team–and none of your strikeouts came against Dalton or Collingwood. What was the key to putting the ball in play against them?
The key for me limiting my strikeouts has been not chasing pitches out of the zone and attacking fastballs, as well as keeping my approach simple and not trying to do too much at the plate.
You went 3-for-4 and scored a run as the Jaguars posted a 5-4 victory in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader at No. 7 Valley to complete a sweep. Do you feel like your team, which has now won seven of its last eight games, is playing its best baseball of the season?
This has been a good week for the team–winning a lot of close games has helped us. No matter the score, we play like it is 0-0 which I feel has helped us win close games.
Your team held on for a 3-2 win in the first game, which ended when you caught a deep fly ball right in front of the fence off the bat of Ellis Colon–who represented the potential winning run for the Tigers. Did you ever think you might run out of room to make the catch?
On that final out, I definitely thought I had more room than I did. I felt my cleats on the warning track and got a little bit nervous for sure, but all the practice we put in this spring and summer definitely gave me confidence that I was going to make the catch.
Will Morris (5-0) tossed a six-hitter in the second game after Darin Severs (4-0) threw five strong innings in the opener to remain unbeaten as well. Your pitching staff has compiled a team ERA of 2.20, which ranks fourth in Class 4A. Did you expect your pitchers to be as effective as they have been this season?
Our pitching has been outstanding. I know people had their doubts before the season started because we lost a lot of our starters. But a lot of our guys have stepped up like Will, Darin, Colton Arndt, Trae Houser, Eli Starr and TJ Hood. They all have pitched great all year, including all of our pitchers in relief with some sophomores and a freshman all stepping up to play a big role in our success as a team.
The sweep allowed your team to move into a tie for first place with No. 8 Johnston in the CIML Conference at 8-4, although the top six squads in the league are currently separated by just 1.5 games. Is winning the conference title a big goal for your team?
Although we don’t talk about it very often, I know winning the conference is a goal for our team. It’s one step in the right direction to hopefully win a state championship.
Did you think that there would be this many contenders to win the conference at the midway point of the season?
Going into the season we didn’t know what to expect out of other programs, but we’re definitely excited that we get to play the top competition in the state with a lot of those teams being in our conference.
After hosting a game against Urbandale on Monday, your team will host a doubleheader against No. 6 Waukee on Wednesday before hosting another game against Johnston on Thursday. Do you think this week will help separate some of the contenders from the pretenders?
With the midpoint in the season coming up, you never know if a team is going to get hot and make a run. I feel like it will be a close race all the way until the end of the season.
Do you pay much attention to the Class 4A rankings, and do you think your team will move into the top 10 this week?
As a team, I feel like we don’t pay too much attention to the rankings. We know we can play with any team in the state, and we’ve proven that. Although it would be nice to be ranked in the top 10, it’s not too much of a worry what our ranking is.
I know you committed last fall to play for Southwestern Community College in Creston. Are you still committed to the Spartans?
Yes, I plan on attending Southwestern to play baseball. Their coach did step down at the end of April, and I’m not 100 percent sure why he did. It was definitely something that made me a little unsure because I didn’t know when or who they were going to hire as a new coach. Fortunately, they hired a new coach last week from Northwest Missouri State. He was their assistant coach for 15-20 years after playing for them. I definitely was a little bit worried for awhile, but now I’m excited to get to know the new coach and his goals for this fall.