The Ankeny Centennial softball team closed out the regular season on Monday against the same opponent that it could face on Saturday in a Class 5A regional semifinal.
The third-ranked Jaguars swept a doubleheader at Urbandale to wrap up a second-place finish in the CIML Conference. They rolled to a 14-3 victory in five innings in the opener, then completed the sweep with an 11-3 triumph.
“It was a positive way to end our regular season on a high note, playing a quality opponent in Urbandale,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “We were able to find a way to get everybody who was in the dugout on the field in some shape or form tonight. We’re just trying to find the right gears to get to that postseason.”
Centennial extended its winning streak to seven games heading into regional play. The Jaguars finished 19-5 in the league and improved to 30-9 overall, while Urbandale’s records dropped to 4-18 and 9-26.
The J-Hawks will host Des Moines North (0-16) in a regional quarterfinal on Thursday. With a win, they would play at Centennial on Saturday in the semifinal round at 7 p.m.
“Looking ahead, there’s a chance we’ll play them on Saturday,” Delaney said of the J-Hawks, who earlier dropped a 14-6 decision at Centennial in five innings on June 27. “We had a plan as a coaching staff on how we were going to handle it tonight, and it kind of worked out and it kind of didn’t, but we were fortunate to get a lot of different people some opportunities tonight.”
Centennial got off to a fast start in both games. The Jaguars led 10-0 after two innings in the first game and 9-0 after two innings in the nightcap.
Urbandale pitchers Aubrey Schuman and Sophie Romey combined to allow 12 walks in the doubleheader. Mady Ott, Kori Lincicum and Lauren Bartine each drove in two runs in the opener without getting a hit, then Ott had four more RBIs in the second game on a walk and three sacrifices.
“Throughout the season I’ve been really impressed with our entire lineup and their ability to find out what that strike zone is, and it all starts with our leadoff batter–Mary Brantley,” Delaney said. “She sets the tone and is able to see some pitches, and she relays that along to everybody else. I guess right now they’re seeing the ball well and learning that strike zone and continuing to pass that information along.”
The Jaguars also had some big hits, pounding out 20 of them in the doubleheader. Ava Faber went 5-for-6 in the twinbill and scored six runs.
Jordyn Kennedy homered and had three RBIs in the first game. It was her 20th homer of the season, tying her for the state lead.
Layla Burnett went 2-for-2 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. It was her first homer of the year.
Peyten Spiegel (9-2) tossed two scoreless innings to earn the win. She had three consecutive strikeouts to leave two runners stranded in the first.
Lincicum (9-4) had five strikeouts over two scoreless innings in the second game. She also knocked in a pair of runs.
Gracie Anderson went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Delaney Wyble went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs.