Will Nesler hit an RBI triple in the 11th inning to drive in the go-ahead run as the Ankeny Centennial baseball team completed a sweep of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Southeast Polk with a 4-3 victory.
The Jaguars overcame a 3-0 deficit by holding Southeast Polk scoreless over the final nine innings.
“There were a lot of heroes,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey. “We got down early but battled back.”
Centennial scored two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to force extra innings. Trae Houser led off the 11th with a single and was bunted to second by Garrett Stevens before Nesler followed with his third hit of the game.
Nesler also doubled and knocked in two runs. Houser went 3-for-5 and scored twice, Brekken Miller went 2-for-5, and Eli Starr went 2-for-4 and had one RBI.
Houser also had a strong outing on the mound, allowing three earned runs on eight hits over the first six innings. He walked two and had four strikeouts.
Will Morris (1-0) then tossed five scoreless innings to earn the win. He allowed just one hit, walked three and had eight strikeouts.
“That was just a great baseball game,” Hey said. “Trae was outstanding after the first two innings, and Will gave us five great innings of relief.”
Centennial posted a 12-6 victory in the opener to snap the Rams’ six-game winning streak. The Jaguars scored three runs in the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie, then added two runs in the fifth, four in the sixth and two more in the seventh.
Cade Newman led the way at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a triple and four RBIs. Nesler went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs, while Alex Cory went 3-for-4 and had one RBI.
Jacob Battershell went 2-for-4 and knocked in a run. Starr tripled and scored a run.
“We had very patient at-bats again and did a nice job of taking what the pitcher was giving us and not expanding our zone,” Hey said.
Jack Loutsch (1-0) earned the win, allowing one earned run on three hits over the first 4 1/3 innings. He walked two and had five strikeouts before Tyler Majeski took over on the mound and closed it out.
“We got really good pitching from Jack,” Hey said.
The Jaguars improved to 4-2 in the CIML Conference and 8-3 overall. Southeast Polk’s records dropped to 2-2 and 9-3.
Centennial will host a conference doubleheader against Waukee Northwest on Thursday. The Wolves are 3-2 in the league and 8-3 overall after splitting at Waukee on Wednesday.