Isaac Bruhl hesitated only briefly as he rounded third base.
The Ankeny Centennial senior raced home from second on a fielder’s choice to cap a dramatic four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving the ninth-ranked Jaguars a 5-4 win over visiting Ankeny and a sweep of a CIML Conference baseball doubleheader on Wednesday.
“That was definitely a good way to end it,” said Bruhl, whose team posted a 10-3 victory in the opener. “I saw Will (Morris) hit it the other way, and I was just trying to get home. I think I just had the momentum going home to get there.”
With runners on first and second and the game tied at 4-4, Morris hit a grounder to second with one out. The Hawks tried to turn an inning-ending double play, but the relay throw to first was in the dirt.
The ball got just far enough away from Ankeny first baseman Samuel Sandvig to allow Bruhl to score the winning run.
“I didn’t have the best day on the mound or in the box, but we just gritted it out and got it done,” said Morris. “I think the reason I’ve had success this season is that I’ve put the ball in play. That wasn’t a hit in the books, but it got the team the win.”
Morris (6-1) kept the Jaguars in the game by holding Ankeny scoreless over the final six innings. He allowed four earned runs–all of them in the first inning–on seven hits and had five strikeouts.
“Credit to Morris,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “After that first inning, he kind of gathered himself and settled in. I thought he pitched really well. That was a pretty resilient effort by him.”
Ankeny starter Will Davies was also outstanding. He took a shutout into the fifth inning before Centennial got on the board via a sacrifice fly by Brekken Miller.
“He pitched really well, and he did the first time against us too (on June 2),” Bruhl said of Davies. “They walked that one off on us, but we got them back this time. We could have gotten things going earlier, but we just had to lock in and start hitting line drives instead of flying out like we were.”
Davies allowed just one hit through the first six innings before the Jaguars opened the seventh with three consecutive hits. Jackson Reed led off with a single, Elijah Starr reached on an infield hit, and Cade Newman followed with a two-run double to the gap in right-center field.
“I knew I was going to get a fastball from him,” Newman said. “He’s a really good pitcher, but I knew it was coming and put a good swing on it and tried to do some damage.”
Balvanz then brought in reliever Hunter Minner (0-3), who had thrown two scoreless innings in the first game of the twinbill. Minner fanned Miller for the first out, but Newman then advanced to third when Bruhl reached on an infield hit.
William Nesler followed with a chopper down the first-base line for another infield hit, allowing Newman to score the tying run and bringing Morris to the plate.
“We’ve had a bunch of close games this year, and we just find ways to win,” Morris said.
Easton Lowe went 3-for-4 and scored a run for the Hawks. Kobe Behrens went 2-for-3 and had one RBI, while Davies knocked in a pair of runs.
Davies walked two and had five strikeouts in his first appearance on the mound since suffering an injury on June 9.
“I thought Will was pretty sharp for having a couple weeks off. He had a great tempo and was hitting his spots,” Balvanz said. “Will’s just a gamer, and I love the way he competes. He wants the baseball in his hands when it really matters, and I respect that out of him.
“We had to go to Minner in the seventh, and I thought he threw well enough to get out of that inning. But we just have to take better care of the baseball,” he added.
Centennial won the first game behind Reed Anderson, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Anderson also got the final three outs in relief of Darin Severs.
“It feels good for sure,” Anderson said. “Obviously, we’ve been playing (Ankeny) for years in the rivalry. It’s good to get a sweep on the last time, unless we see them in the (state tournament).”
Anderson had a two-run single to ignite the Jaguars’ four-run first inning against Ankeny starter Zach Halverson (0-3). Reed and Starr then followed with RBI singles.
“For the guys to spot me four (runs), I could just go out and really not have to worry about any big hits or anything like that,” said Severs. “And we kept scoring, so it wasn’t just one inning and done.”
Anderson added an RBI single in the second. Kohen Bollwinkel had an RBI single of his own in the third.
Reed went 3-for-4 in the win. He hit a leadoff double in the fourth, then raced for third and forced an errant throw that allowed him to score.
“We just had to come out strong with the bats and let the pitchers do the work,” said Reed. “We just wanted to be aggressive on the basepaths and steal as much as we can. Just get up on them early.”
Bollwinkel and Bruhl each went 2-for-3 for the Jaguars. Bruhl had a double and scored twice.
“I felt confident with our whole team hitting,” Reed said. “I think we all did a great job, and it’s just nice to see everyone come together.”
Severs (5-0) allowed just one earned run on three hits over the first six innings. He had three strikeouts.
“As soon as I knew I was starting this game, I was ready to go,” Severs said. “Just dreaming about it at my house, fantasizing about it. We were just ready to get these guys back.”
The sweep allowed Centennial to move into sole possession of first place in the conference. The Jaguars improved to 11-5 in the league and 16-7 overall, while Ankeny’s records fell to 4-12 and 7-19.
“It’s a big thing for us,” Anderson said of the conference race. “We take it team by team in the CIML. It’s a brutal league, but if we just win every series, I feel we’ll have a good shot at the CIML title.”
The Jaguars will host a showdown against No. 6 Waukee Northwest on Thursday at 10 a.m. The Wolves are 11-6 in the conference after sweeping Valley on Wednesday.
Ankeny, meanwhile, will host a CIML game against Southeast Polk (8-8) at 5 p.m.
“Coach (Mark) Hey has a nice group there at Centennial, and they really battled and earned that sweep,” Balvanz said. “But Thursday is a new day, the sun will come up, and we have another game to play.”
