The second meeting between Ankeny’s crosstown rivals on the softball field came a few days earlier than expected.
Fourth-ranked Ankeny Centennial and Ankeny both competed in the 16-team Fort Dodge Invitational this weekend. The two squads collided in a consolation semifinal on Saturday after they both split a pair of contests on Friday, and the Jaguars posted an 8-3 victory en route to a fifth-place finish overall.
“Honestly, the team as a whole is doing a great job,” said Centennial slugger Jordyn Kennedy. “We’ve been able to execute our plans at the plate, pitchers have been throwing extremely well, and the defense has been doing a great job having the pitchers’ backs. I’m so proud of this team and can’t wait to see us thrive this second half of the season!”
It was Centennial’s second win over the Hawkettes, who had earlier dropped a 12-0 decision in five innings to their rival on June 2. The Jaguars will host a doubleheader against Ankeny on Wednesday to complete the season series.
“It’s not what we wanted to do at this point, knowing that we turn around and play them again on Wednesday,” said Ankeny coach Sarah Saladino. “It just gave us another opportunity in preparation for that doubleheader.”
After Ankeny took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Kennedy and Mady Ott hit back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the frame to tie it. Kori Lincicum then followed with a two-run homer.
Lincicum and Lauren Bartine each had an RBI single in the third to extend the margin to 5-1. Kennedy later blasted a three-run homer.
“I think getting into the second half of the season and getting ready to see the same teams again has helped me,” Kennedy said. “At this point, I have a pretty decent idea what the pitchers are going to throw. Now, I just have to be ready to execute it.”
The Jaguars (18-7) then rolled to an 11-2 victory in the fifth-place game over Fort Dodge, the No. 8 team in Class 4A. Kennedy ended the game in the fifth inning with a two-run homer, her third of the weekend.
“I love having Mady and Kori behind me in the lineup,” Kennedy said. “Especially right now, they are doing an amazing job. They have my backs no matter what. And I think having them behind me gives the pitcher a little bit of nerves having to throw to them.”
Lincicum had a two-run double in the first inning and a two-run homer in the third. It was her third blast of the weekend.
Fort Dodge (14-7) tied the game at 2-2 in the second inning before Mary Brantley hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame to put the Jaguars ahead for good. She later had an RBI grounder.
Ott contributed an RBI double in the win. Layla Burnett had a two-run single in the fifth to make it 9-2 before Kennedy followed with her walk-off blast.
Aubrey Scieszinski allowed two earned runs on four hits to pick up the victory. She had three strikeouts and also went 3-for-3 at the plate.
Ankeny, meanwhile, suffered a 14-0 loss to No. 14 Cedar Rapids Kennedy in four innings in the seventh-place game. The Hawkettes dropped to 8-13 overall.
Ella Brown went 3-for-3 with a double, a homer and four RBIs for the Cougars (13-14). Lily Knutson and Dylan Amling also homered.
“It was a great tournament. Even though it was very hot, we saw a lot of great competition and I think that just makes you better as a team,” Saladino said. “We’re just continuing to work through things. We’re still seeing success in areas even though we’ve had these hard losses.”
The Jaguars opened the tournament on Friday with a 10-0 win over Charles City in four innings. They used a seven-run first inning and a three-run second to rout the Comets (8-8).
Kennedy homered and drove in three runs, while Lincicum homered and had two RBIs. Bartine doubled and knocked in two runs.
Peyten Spiegel combined with Ashley Sterling on a two-hitter, recording four strikeouts over the first 2 2/3 innings. She also doubled and drove in a run.
Centennial then dropped a 4-2 decision in the quarterfinals to Winterset, the No. 15 team in Class 4A. Zoey Breeding doubled and had two RBIs for the Huskies (15-8), who broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the fourth inning.
Ott had an RBI double and also scored in the sixth, when the Jaguars plated both of their runs in their final at-bat. Bartine had the team’s only other hit off Kylie Nelson, who walked three and had one strikeout.
Lincicum allowed two earned runs on three hits in the loss. She had three strikeouts across 2 2/3 innings.
The Hawkettes, meanwhile, opened the tournament with a 5-1 victory over Des Moines Roosevelt. They used a four-run fifth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit against the Roughriders (14-8).
Aubrey Lensmeyer tossed a four-hitter and had 11 strikeouts to earn the win. Avery Nelson drove in two runs, while Haylee Johnson and Mckenna Byers each had an RBI.
Ankeny then suffered a 12-10 loss to No. 12 Ames in the quarterfinals. The Little Cyclones (19-7) rallied for eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after the Hawkettes scored seven times in the top of the frame to take a 10-4 lead.
Sarah Munger homered and had three RBIs for Ankeny. Losing pitcher Kaylyn Miller went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs.
Lensmeyer doubled and drove in two runs, while Tenley Heidemann doubled and knocked in a run.
“We had moments in that game where we were up and down,” Saladino said. “Both teams had double digits in hits. It was back and forth, but we just need to work on closing out those games.”
On Saturday, Ames dropped a 6-3 decision in the semifinals to Winterset, which then fell to North Polk in the title game, 10-0, in four innings. The Comets (18-4) are the No. 7 team in Class 4A.
Both Ankeny and Centennial will return to CIML Conference play on Monday. The Jaguars will play a single game at No. 6 Southeast Polk (16-8), while the Hawkettes will travel to Urbandale (7-15).
“We’re just really focusing on improvement and preparing for the rest of the season and the postseason,” Saladino said. “The big focus is the fundamentals and the process of the game while maintaining our culture and the love and the gratitude as we move through this next week, where I think we’ll be playing six days in a row.”