The Ankeny baseball team needs to find an offensive spark.
After scoring five runs in their only win over Dubuque Hempstead on May 23, the Hawks have now been held to four runs or fewer in their last eight games–all of them losses. They are averaging just 2.3 runs per game after being swept on Wednesday at Urbandale by scores of 9-1 and 11-3.
“Offensively, I like that we were aggressive,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz. “We just hit too many ground balls to the left side of the infield for outs. We’ve got to turn those into line drives.”
Ankeny had just six hits in the first game and four more in the nightcap. The Hawks are now batting .197 as a team.
“We’ve got to continue to focus on staying in the middle of the field with our approach at the plate and take better care of the ball on defense,” Balvanz said.
Ryan Wille and Jackson Molloy each drove in a run in the second game. Ryan Buffington doubled and scored a run.
Norman Ha (0-3) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on three hits over the first 3 1/3 innings. He walked four and had four strikeouts.
“Ha was sharp early and ran into trouble in the fourth,” Balvanz said. “They were able to put up a crooked number there and made us chase them.”
Urbandale pounded out eight doubles on the night. Brody Mcinville accounted for half of them, going 4-for-7 with four doubles and six RBIs.
Logan Wildebour (0-3) got the start for Ankeny in the opener. He allowed seven earned runs on six hits while recording five strikeouts over the first 2 2/3 innings.
“We had a tough time consistently finding the strike zone in game one,” Balvanz said. “Urbandale did a nice job of hitting with guys in scoring position.”
Landon Hutchins gave up just one hit in two scoreless innings of relief.
“Landon did a nice job on the mound,” Balvanz said.
Kyle Clevidence went 2-for-3 for the Hawks. Jack Romig went 1-for-2 and knocked in the team’s lone run.
The J-Hawks improved to 3-2 in the CIML Conference and 12-4 overall. Ankeny’s records dropped to 0-6 and 1-12.
The Hawks will host a conference doubleheader against Southeast Polk on Thursday. The Rams are 2-2 in the league and 9-3 overall after being swept by Ankeny Centennial on Wednesday.