For the second weekend in a row, the Ankeny softball squad earned an eighth-place finish in a 16-team tournament by winning its first-round game before dropping the next three contests.
The Hawkettes posted a 5-0 victory over North Linn in the Linn-Mar Invitational on Friday at Marion. They then dropped a 6-2 decision in the quarterfinals to Cedar Rapids Xavier, the No. 1 team in Class 4A.
On Saturday, Ankeny suffered a 1-0 loss in a consolation semifinal to Mount Vernon, the No. 3 team in Class 3A. Fort Dodge, the No. 8 team in Class 4A, then defeated the Hawkettes, 5-0, in the seventh-place game.
“We played some very good competition this weekend,” said Ankeny coach Sarah Saladino, whose team is now 10-20 on the season. “We had two really close games, pulling away in one to win. It was a good opportunity to continue working on the skills that we are growing in while preparing for the last competitive stretch of the season and getting ready for postseason.”
Ankeny used a five-run sixth inning to beat North Linn (16-14). Avery Nelson went 2-for-3, scored a run and drove in another.
Aubrey Lensmeyer went 2-for-3 with a double and was also the winning pitcher. She tossed a two-hitter, walked three and had three strikeouts.
Tenley Heidemann tripled and knocked in a run. Kaylyn Miller doubled and had one RBI.
In the quarterfinals, Xavier (29-2) erased an early 1-0 deficit with two runs in the second inning and four more in the third. Freshman Callie Luerkens had two RBIs for the Saints, while her sister Alaina went 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs.
Miller took the loss, allowing one earned run on seven hits over the first three innings. The Hawkettes committed six errors.
Nelson, Miller and Lensmeyer each had a double. Miller drove in a run.
Lensmeyer (7-11) pitched another gem in the loss to Mount Vernon, allowing just one earned run on two hits and recording three strikeouts. The Mustangs (22-9) scored the game’s only run in the sixth inning.
Morgan Fisher had the only hit for Ankeny, which struck out 11 times against Mount Vernon pitcher Hayden Gookin.
The Hawkettes were then held to two hits by Fort Dodge’s Lucy Porter, who walked one and had six strikeouts. Nelson had a double, while Sarah Munger added a single.
The Dodgers (22-9) scored two runs in the third inning and three more in the sixth. Hope Alstott went 2-for-4 and drove in a run.
Miller (3-9) went the distance in the loss. She allowed two earned runs on eight hits and had two strikeouts.
The Hawkettes will play a CIML Conference doubleheader on Monday at Dowling Catholic (7-12). The Maroons dropped a 7-2 decision at Ankeny on June 11.