After playing her final game in an Ankeny softball uniform, senior Aubrey Lensmeyer hugged her coaches before walking off the field at Southeast Polk.
Her high school career had come to an end just a few minutes earlier with a 3-2 loss in a Class 5A regional final on Tuesday.
“I’m always proud of this team,” said Lensmeyer. “It’s been an up-and-down season, but to get to this point that no one thought we would, it’s great. We just didn’t come out on top today.”
Third-ranked Southeast Polk scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning to advance to next week’s state tournament at Fort Dodge. Freshman Berkley Weiland reached on a bunt single with one out, stole second with two outs and then raced home on a pair of wild pitches by Lensmeyer.
Lensmeyer (10-13) allowed just five hits, but struggled with her control at times. She walked eight batters–six of them in the first three innings.
“(The strike zone) wasn’t too bad,” Lensmeyer said. “I just couldn’t grip the ball with the heat and humidity. It kept slipping out of my hand.”
Souheast Polk’s Karter Price (17-7) tossed a three-hitter. After giving up a pair of runs in the third inning, she retired the last 13 batters that she faced.
“I feel like we were just not attacking early. We were getting there, but we just weren’t stringing hits together,” said Ankeny freshman Morgan Fisher. “But we tried and we fought and we were gritty all the way through. We tried our best.”
This was the fourth time in the last six years that the two CIML Conference rivals have met in regional play. The Rams (31-10) won two of the three previous meetings and also went 2-1 against Ankeny during the regular season.
Tuesday’s game was another nailbiter between the familiar opponents.
“What a great ball game,” said Ankeny coach Sarah Saladino, whose team finished with a 13-27 record. “This is what you want in a regional final. You want something that is tight. It’s great softball.”
Ankeny had a chance to take an early lead when Avery Nelson hit a one-out single in the first inning and went to third when Kaylyn Miller bunted and reached on an error. But Nelson was thrown out at home on a grounder by Sarah Munger, then Lensmeyer lined out to left field to end the inning.
Southeast Polk took advantage of Lensmeyer’s control issues to score the game’s first run in the second inning. After the Rams loaded the bases on a trio of walks, Halle Clark hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field to bring home pinch-runner Alayna Goldsberry.
“I think (Lensmeyer) liked our sequences we were going to,” Saladino said. “Sometimes, it was one side or the other on the plate and we were just trying to find it a few times. But she did well on the mound tonight.”
Ankeny then responded in the the top of the third, relying on its speed to take the lead. Brylee Bach bunted for a hit and went to second on an errant throw to ignite the rally.
“We were just thinking, ‘Get ahead early,'” Fisher said. “(Price) throws strikes early so hop on those so you don’t get stuck later in the count.”
Fisher followed with another bunt single that advanced Bach to third. She took second on the play.
After Price made a diving catch on another bunt by Nelson, Miller hit a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game. Fisher went to third on the play, then raced home with the go-ahead run when Price’s 0-2 pitch to Munger got away from her and eluded catcher Kailee Thamontri.
“Whenever I’m on third, I’m just always ready for a passed ball,” Fisher said. “I just think I’m going, and I just go and try to score.”
Lensmeyer then settled in and held the lead through the next two innings, when Southeast Polk twice left two runners stranded. Overall, the Rams left 11 runners on base.
In the fourth, Nelson made a running catch in right-center field to rob Kennedy Borud of a potential extra-base hit that likely would have put Southeast Polk ahead.
“I think (the lead) just helps your pitcher relax as you continue through the innings,” Saladino said. “The more (runs) you can put on the board, the more composed she is and the better she feels on the mound.”
Southeast Polk tied it in the fifth, though, after Jesslyn Stairs drew a leadoff walk and went to second when Jadyn Woods reached on an error. Goldsberry then replaced Stairs and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Thamontri.
Price then smashed an RBI single off the glove of third baseman Miller to tie the game.
“They’re really good hitters. They’re a tough team overall, and they’re tough to beat,” Lensmeyer said. “I knew it was going to be a dogfight until the end. I was just hoping we could come out on top.”
Saladino was proud of her team’s effort.
“(It’s great) just to be here in the regional final,” she said. “I know the numbers don’t tell your story. I think a lot of people had different thoughts possibly of where we were at, but two great ball clubs came together tonight.”
