The Ankeny baseball team dropped a 6-1 decision to visiting North Polk in the completion of a suspended game on Thursday.
The Hawks trailed by 6-1 in the fifth inning when the non-conference contest was halted by lightning on Monday. Neither team was able to score when play resumed.
North Polk remained unbeaten at 3-0.
“I thought all the relief pitchers that we used did a nice job on the mound,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz, whose team fell to 0-3. “I continue to be encouraged by the depth of the pitching staff.”
Brayden Kern, Paxton Wylie and Jackson Molloy combined for four scoreless innings in relief of starter Norman Ha. The trio allowed just two hits while recording three strikeouts.
Balvanz was also happy with the play of his defense, which had struggled in the first few innings on Monday.
“The guys have done a nice job of cleaning things up defensively the past couple of days,” he said.
Easton Lowe went 2-for-4 with a double in the loss. Ace Parton went 2-for-3 and scored a run, while Drake Allison also had a hit.
“We just need to get things going a little more offensively,” Balvanz said. “I see a lot of potential in this group. They work hard every day and want to be successful.”
Ankeny will play at Cedar Rapids Kennedy (2-2) on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. before facing Dubuque Hempstead (2-2) in a 1 p.m. contest at Cedar Rapids Xavier.
