After missing last year’s Class 5A state tournament, Ankeny Centennial’s juggernaut of a softball team has returned to Harlan Rogers Park.
The fourth-ranked Jaguars–who outscored their three opponents by a 29-2 margin to win the crown in 2023–opened this year’s tournament on Monday with a 9-0 win over No. 5 Valley in five innings in a Class 5A quarterfinal. They pounded out 10 hits off three Valley pitchers to beat the Tigers for the fourth time this season.
“It’s never easy to win four games in a row against someone, especially a quality opponent like Valley,” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “But we found a way to get it done. it’s all a testament to the girls and their motto of #asone. That’s what we’re up here to do this week–we’re #asone all week long.”
Mady Ott and Lauren Bartine each drove in two runs for the Jaguars, who also got a two-hit shutout from Aubrey Scieszinski. Centennial (33-9) extended its winning streak to 10 games.
“It was a matter of defense,” said Ott, who blasted her 14th home run of the season to ignite a six-run third inning. “The game starts with our pitcher, and then we just have to keep our bats going.”
Valley (29-12) had a chance to strike first in the first inning, when the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs. Mackenzie Mohler led off the game with a four-pitch walk, then Kari Rose and Addy Ballard followed with a pair of bunt singles.
After Mohler was forced out at home on a close play on a grounder to short by Ilsa Hervey, Brynn Cibula hit another grounder to the right side that got past Centennial first baseman Delaney Wyble before hitting the Valley runner. The play was immediately ruled dead due to runner’s interference.
“The ball did hit her,” said Valley coach Tom Bakey. “I thought it went past the first baseman, but (the umpire) felt like the second baseman had a play on it–and you know, she has the best look at it. I just thought once it went past her that we were beyond that (call), but apparently they ruled if somebody else has a play on it that’s how it is.”
Delaney was puzzled by the Tigers’ argument.
“They were questioning if our girl was in the way or something like that, but the ball hit her,” Delaney said. “So I don’t know what else you can argue.”
Scieszinski (14-3) then got out of the jam by striking out Lily Finn to leave the bases loaded.
“It was really crucial because we wanted to come out with energy, attack first and really score those runs first–just so we can be more relaxed,” said Scieszinski. “I think a lot of us were kind of tense and just not taking deep breaths in those moments where it got a little chaotic the first two batters.”
Ott, though, was never worried about the Tigers’ early threat.
“It was the first inning, and anything can happen,” she said. “We were just staying calm on defense and doing the little things.”
Bakey called it a wasted opportunity by his team.
“The first inning of the first game of the state tournament, it’s always better to be the visiting team because the pitcher–I don’t care how old they are–it’s always a little different issue,” he said. “We put some pressure on her, but we just couldn’t get that darn thing across the plate when we needed to. That (call) didn’t change the game. We needed to get a base hit there–we needed to get a ball in the grass and do some damage. At the end of the day, they outhit us, they outpitched us, and they certainly played way better defense. When you let a pop fly drop in the first inning and you don’t make a play at second base, then that’s tough. We just didn’t make the plays we needed to.”
From that point on, Centennial dominated the game in every aspect. The Jaguars never looked back after getting a sacrifice fly from Kori Lincicum and a two-run single from Bartine in the bottom of the first.
“We like to start games in interesting ways,” Delaney said. “We found a way to get out of that (jam) without giving up any runs, and then we responded taking one at a time up at the plate. It was a good day.”
In the third inning, Ott ripped the first pitch from Valley starter Maddie Zlomke over the fence in left-center field. She later had an RBI single off reliever Tealey Schwingendorf in the same inning.
“I’m looking for my pitch, and if it’s there, I’m going to make the most out of it,” Ott said of her towering homer.
Makenna Foster followed Ott’s homer with an RBI double off the fence. Camden Starr hit an RBI single, Ava Faber drove in another run with a grounder, and Jordyn Kennedy added another RBI single off the fence.
“It definitely allowed me to settle in, knowing that I can just go out and throw strikes and my teammates’ bats are going to have my back no matter what and our defense is going to have my back,” Scieszinski said.
After the shaky start, Scieszinski retired the last 15 batters that she faced. More than half of them were retired via ground balls.
“That’s a really good team right there in Valley,” Delaney said. “The girls came out ready to go. We had a little delay from the great game ahead of us (going nine innings), but they were focused and ready to go from the get-go this morning. It’s pretty exciting.”
The Jaguars will now play No. 1 Waukee Northwest (38-5) in the semifinals on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The Wolves advanced with a 4-0 victory over Dowling Catholic, getting a four-hitter and a Class 5A single-game record 15 strikeouts from freshman pitcher Sophia Schlader.
“She’s good. They’re good,” Delaney said. “It’s going to be two of the best in the state going at each other on Wednesday morning. We’re excited about the opportunity.”
The Wolves won two of three meetings against Centennial this season–both of them with Schlader in the circle. She tossed a two-hitter with nine strikeouts in a 4-0 win on June 5 and then threw a three-hitter with seven strikeouts in an 8-0 victory on June 26.
“We’ll come with our plan and do what we can,” Ott said. “We’ve seen her a couple of times–and now we’ll see her again.”
Delaney could go back to Scieszinski for a second straight start, or he could opt for one of his other pitchers. Lincicum tossed a three-hitter and had six strikeouts in a 9-0 win at Northwest on June 5.
“We’re just as competitive if not more (than the Wolves),” Scieszinski said. “We can come out hard and screaming, and do whatever we need to take it one pitch at a time and really attack early.”
No. 2 Linn-Mar (Marion) (34-6) will face No. 6 Cedar Falls (31-9) in the other semifinal at 12:45 p.m. The Class 5A championship and third-place games will be played on Thursday night.
