Junior infielder Jordyn Kennedy helped the Ankeny Centennial softball team to a 34-10 record and a third-place finish in the Class 5A state tournament. She was named to the all-tournament team for the second time in three years.
Kennedy was one of the state’s best hitters and nearly won the Triple Crown in Class 5A. She led all large-school players with 21 home runs and 61 RBIs while finishing second in batting average with a .547 mark.
Kennedy earned all-state honors for the fourth time, landing a spot on the Class 5A first team for the third consecutive year. She was also selected to the CIML Conference first team and to the Class 5A West all-district team for the third straight year.
Here is some inside info on Kennedy:
Congratulations on an outstanding season. What will you remember the most about this season?
The most memorable thing is definitely the team. This year’s team holds a special place in my heart. I got to know them all and have special bonds with all of them.
Your team avenged a doubleheader loss to Cedar Falls with a 10-2 victory in six innings in the Class 5A consolation final on July 24. Was the team pretty motivated to end the season with a win after losing to top-ranked Waukee Northwest in the semifinals the day before?
Yes, we were. We were all so grateful that we got the opportunity to come back the next day. We wanted to send our seniors out on a high note. There was extra motivation to play well for them.
You hit a home run during the loss to Northwest off freshman pitcher Sophia Schlader, who was later named the captain of the all-tournament team. Did that take some of the sting from the loss away?
She’s a really great pitcher. Anyone who can get a hit off of her is a bonus. Of course we wanted to move onto the championship game, and we knew it would be a hard task going up against Northwest for the fourth time this year. I was just glad to be able to put the ball in play and score some runs.
Your team managed to score three runs off Schlader after being held scoreless by her in two previous games this season. Do you think you learned some things from those previous games that helped when you faced her again?
Yes. At this point we all knew what she threw. We all had a plan to go up there: be in the back of the box, shorten our swing, feet on the line to take away inside, and not expand our zone to make her job easier. Everyone on the team was able to execute and even though we didn’t get a whole lot of hits off of her we were able to put the ball in play, which is an accomplishment itself.
You broke both the Centennial single-season and career home run records that were previously held by Kendyl Lindaman this season. Did you ever imagine when you joined the varsity as an eighth grader in 2022 that you could break her records?
Absolutely not. That didn’t even cross my mind at all. I was just grateful coach Delaney gave me the opportunity to play and showcase my skills as an eighth grader. Never would I have thought I’d be able to break some records.
Kendyl hit a total of 71 homers during her five-year career while playing for both Ankeny and Centennial. You now have 49 career homers, so do you think Kendyl’s career total is within your grasp?
It’s a possibility. It’s a good goal to have next year to continue to push me.
Kendyl went on to play for Minnesota before finishing her career at Florida, and you have also committed to play for the Gophers. What attracted you to Minnesota’s program?
I immediately loved the coaches. They were so easy to talk to and gave such great feedback when I went to their camps. On my visit I got to hang out with some of the players for a bit and they were so nice and fun to talk to. I also loved the campus and the atmosphere of Minnesota so it was a pretty obvious choice.
You made a few brief pitching appearances in both 2022 and 2023, but have not pitched in a game since. Did you just decide to focus on hitting after your freshman year?
Yes. Pitching took a lot of time out of my day, and I didn’t love it. I wanted to focus more time on hitting and developing my defense. I decided to quit pitching after my freshman season.
In what ways do you feel you still need to improve your game in the offseason?
I want to continue to expand my range and improve on my skill set in defense. I want to continue to grow my game at the plate. There’s always little things that I can improve on to help myself and my team compete better.
Your team will have to replace three key seniors in Mary Brantley, Makenna Foster and Aubrey Scieszinski. Will you miss the leadership from those girls, and do you think you have some quality replacements coming up?
Yes, we will all miss the leadership from our seniors. They were a very unique group of seniors, and we loved all of them and what they brought. As upcoming seniors we will definitely try to continue the mindset that they had. I definitely think we have quality replacements. We are very fortunate to have so much talent. I’ve seen a lot of our underclassmen and what they can do, and I’m excited this next year to see them perform out there.
Do you think you’ll try to become more of a leader for the team as a senior?
Yes, I definitely will try to become more of a leader. One of my goals this year was to be more vocal on the team, and I felt like I met that goal. All I need to do next year is continue to grow that leadership role. I’ve been observing what our seniors did this year when it comes to leadership, and I want to continue to follow their lead.