Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz often reminds his players that baseball is a unique sport.
“I tell the guys all the time, ‘This is the only game where you can’t run out the clock. You can’t dribble it out. You can’t kneel on it. If you have outs left, you have a puncher’s chance,'” Balvanz said.
That proved to be the case in the Brent Prange Classic on Saturday at Ankeny, where the Hawks rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to post a 6-5 victory over second-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Brady Carter hit a two-out, walk-off single against reliever Kasen Gilroy to complete the comeback.
“We just hung around long enough to have a shot,” Balvanz said. “Kinnick (Vos) struck out, but the catcher didn’t field the ball and he ended up on first. And then Brady hit a little flare over the first baseman’s head that landed in no man’s land, and we won the ball game.”
Ankeny pitchers Zach Halverson and Hunter Minner combined on a four-hitter. Halverson allowed just one earned run on three hits and had eight strikeouts over the first four innings.
Minner (1-3) then allowed just one hit and had four strikeouts over three scoreless innings. He was named the team’s MVP.
“Hunter looked phenomenal on the mound,” Balvanz said.
Samuel Sandvig went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs for the Hawks. Easton Lowe, Vos, Carter, Jackson Romig and Evan Irlmeier each drove in a run.
Irlmeier has been out of the lineup for about a month due to an injury.
“He still can’t run, but he’s been taking (batting practice) for a few weeks,” Balvanz said. “I just wanted to see what he could do with an at-bat, and he hit a line drive past the third baseman.”
It was the second straight loss for Prairie (24-7), which had dropped a 10-5 decision at Dallas Center-Grimes earlier in the day.
The Hawks then followed with a 12-6 win over North Scott to raise their record to 9-19. After the Lancers (14-18) took an early 2-0 lead, Ankeny rallied for three runs in the fifth inning, four in the sixth and five more in the seventh.
“It was a good feeling to get two wins,” Balvanz said. “We got off to a slow start in the second game, but we made some adjustments at the plate and ended up with 17 hits.”
Sandvig went 4-for-4 with two doubles, scored three runs and knocked in another. He was named the team’s MVP.
Carter went 2-for-5 with a double and four RBIs. Vos went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.
Austin Hans went 2-for-2 with a double, a triple and drove in two runs. Lowe went 2-for-4 and also had two RBIs.
“Easton has been playing with his hair on fire,” Balvanz said. “He’s a really good player.”
Five Ankeny pitchers combined on a nine-hitter. Norman Ha (2-0) got the win, allowing just two hits over 2 2/3 scoreless innings while recording three strikeouts.
Dylan Kelsey went 4-for-4 and had two RBIs for North Scott.
The Hawks will play a CIML Conference doubleheader on Monday at Dowling Catholic (13-12). The Maroons posted a 13-1 victory at Ankeny in five innings on June 11.