(Story by Dom Tornabane)
The Ankeny Centennial baseball team was able to complete 5 1/3 innings of its season-opening doubleheader against visiting Des Moines Roosevelt on Monday before a lightning strike ultimately cancelled the rest of the first game and postponed the nightcap until May 26.
The Jaguars used a two-run fifth inning to post a 4-2 victory in the rain-shortened game, which featured some strong pitching by both teams.
Centennial finished with six hits off two Roosevelt pitchers, all of them singles. The Roughriders, meanwhile, were held to just one hit–a double by Lucas Kelley.
“I thought that our hitting was very balanced up and down the order,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey. “Trae Houser, Eli Starr, Brekken Miller and Cade Newman all had big hits for us.”
Roosevelt took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before the Jaguars tied it in the second. The Roughriders got another run in the third to make it 2-1, but Centennial tied it in the fourth and then rallied against Roosevelt reliever Miles Lorentzen in the fifth.
After being held to a pair of unearned runs over the first four innings by Roosevelt starter Aidan Vens, the Jaguars had three of their six hits in the fifth inning, including an RBI single by Newman. Miller also drove in a run.
Centennial pitchers Colton Arndt and Connor Williams combined for nine strikeouts in the win. Williams earned the victory with 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief, allowing just one walk while striking out four.
Kelley scored both of Roosevelt’s runs. He led off the game with a walk and eventually came home on a grounder by Vens, then doubled in the third and scored again.
Arndt racked up five strikeouts over the first three innings. He allowed four walks and two earned runs.
The Jaguars will travel to Dallas Center-Grimes on Thursday for another non-conference game against the Mustangs.
“We have a really tough schedule, so playing consistently will be important,” Hey said.
