(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The 2024 season was all about setting the foundation for the Ankeny Christian Academy softball team.
Now, the process of building up one of Class 1A’s top programs is in motion.
“It’s been great because we’ve got a lot of our players back and they already know the routine, know our drills and know what we’re looking for,” said Ankeny Christian coach James Crosby. “Now we’re starting to build on that foundation. We’re not laying the foundation so much as starting to build a little bit of a house here.”
Ankeny Christian knew it had the talent to compete in its first year as a program last season, which saw the Eagles compile an 18-7 overall record before ending their campaign in the Region 2 semifinals against Collins-Maxwell.
But another year of development has surged the Eagles up the rankings as one of the top teams in Class 1A this season.
Ankeny Christian is currently ranked fourth in the state while sporting an 11-1 overall record and a perfect 6-0 conference mark following its 21-2 victory over Lamoni in four innings on Tuesday at Lew Clarkson Park.
Through 12 games this year, the Eagles are outscoring teams by a 143-43 margin and winning by an average of just over eight runs per game.
“It caught me by surprise and I think a lot of the other girls and coaches,” senior Katie Quick said of the team’s early success. “We have a lot less players this year, so we knew it was going to be tougher. But we’ve been really gritty this year, and getting some big wins against ranked teams has boosted our confidence.”
The 21 runs scored against Lamoni stands as the Eagles’ new program record for runs scored in a single game. The previous best was 19 runs during a win over Moulton-Udell earlier in the year and during victories over Melcher-Dallas and Mormon Trail last season.
Lamoni (2-7) was able to strike quickly for two runs to open the game. The Demons got an RBI double from Allyson Martin, then added another run on an error.
But Ankeny Christian batted around in the bottom of the first inning, and by the time Lamoni finally got the third out the Eagles were already threatening the run rule with a 10-2 lead.
Katelyn Weathers crushed her fourth homer of the season with a two-run shot to left field in the second inning to extend the margin.
The Eagles piled on eight more runs in the third inning–highlighted by Quick hitting her seventh homer of the year on a three-run shot–to take their 19-run lead.
“This one felt really good because last time we played them it was pretty tight and even last year it was pretty tight with them,” said Quick, who also tossed a two-hitter and had four strikeouts. “This year, it felt good to come out here and put it on them.”
Ankeny Christian collected 11 hits and 16 RBIs from seven different batters.
Abby Farrand recorded a three-hit game, while Quick and Weathers each had a pair of hits. Quick finished with a team-high four RBIs with Weathers and Lexxi Moore adding three RBIs apiece.
“The bats are lively,” Crosby said. “I think we’re starting to see that we can hit the ball one through nine in the lineup.”
Quick, Weathers and Breeze Bentz are three returners that were key pieces to the Eagles’ success last season.
Quick led the team in nearly every hitting category last year while also posting a team-high 87 strikeouts in the circle. Bentz was second on the team in RBIs while fourth in hits and batting average as an eighth grader. Weathers was fifth in hits and mashed five homers as a freshman.
But having a full season under their belts has helped raise the overall playing level of the team, and the Eagles don’t have to worry about having a top-heavy lineup.
“It’s been so nice,” Quick said. “The bottom of the lineup has produced so well this year, especially compared to last year. It was a lot of the top last year, but this year everyone is hitting and it’s amazing.”
The Lamoni game was a prime example of how much the team has progressed.
Moore recorded three RBIs while batting in the No. 9 spot as an eighth grader. Farrand and Aly Johnson each drove in two runs, while Meleinna Patterson came through with an RBI single.
Despite not collecting a hit, freshman Brynley Luce and sophomore Livi Johnson were able to cross home plate a combined five times.
Getting that kind of production from the entire lineup is a big reason why the Eagles are in a spot to keep raising the bar for the program.
“I think if you go back to our first year, we were real top-heavy and we know we’re still top-heavy,” Crosby said. “We’ve got some players that have been doing this their whole life, they’re real comfortable and they carry the team. But this season, those second-year players are really starting to contribute and it’s pushing the whole team forward. It’s really fun to see.”
The top of the lineup itself has been playing at another level, too.
After the Lamoni game, Weathers is now batting .700, Quick is at .683 and Bentz is at .567 with 66 combined hits and 59 combined RBIs. In the circle, Quick has compiled a 7-1 record and racked up 43 strikeouts with a 2.88 ERA.
Quick has kept herself busy juggling softball and volleyball at the same time as the all-stater opted to play out her final softball season while prepping for her collegiate volleyball career at Drake this fall.
“This year has been a bit draining for me because I’ve been doing morning workouts since I’m going to play volleyball at Drake,” Quick said. “I’ve been doing both at the same time and it’s been very draining, but I’ve learned to take midday naps and keep my body healthy.”
One key piece to Ankeny Christian’s success is currently out of the lineup.
Junior Sicily Crosby has made a major impact since joining the Eagles. She was batting .432 with two home runs and 18 RBIs while also holding a 4-0 record, 24 strikeouts and a 1.48 ERA as another pitching option.
However, she suffered a knee injury during a practice. The Eagles are hoping that Crosby can return to the lineup before postseason play arrives in July.
“She’s been huge,” Crosby said. “On the pitching side, there’s so much benefit having two pitchers and rotating them every couple of days, keeping arms fresh and Katie fresh. She’s been really successful pitching. I think her ERA is in the 1.5 range, so she’s been great and we need to get her back to make that end of the season push.”
The Eagles are looking to win the conference title in their second year as a program. They’re also hoping to make a deep run in the postseason.
“I really think we can go far in the postseason,” Quick said. “It’ll be really exciting to see how we do.”
