Even with Jordyn Kennedy out of the lineup for Tuesday’s non-conference game, the Ankeny Centennial softball team continued its home run binge.
Mylie Hatfield blasted two homers, her teammates combined for three more, and the second-ranked Jaguars cruised to a 14-2 victory in four innings at North Polk, the No. 9 team in Class 4A.
“We were very fortunate for the opportunity to play a quality team at a top-notch complex on a beautiful night!” said Centennial coach Brett Delaney. “The girls are consistently working and pushing themselves and their teammates to be the best they can be.”
Hatfield went 2-for-3 and drove in four runs one night after she slugged four homers in a doubleheader sweep at Dowling Catholic. She is now tied for second in the entire state with eight home runs.
Hatfield moved into the clean-up spot behind Mady Ott due to the absence of the Jaguars’ usual No. 3 hitter. Kennedy was attending college orientation.
“Mylie is seeing the ball well right now,” Delaney said. “She’s consistently working to improve small components of her swing, and going up there relaxed and loose has allowed her to have the results everyone is seeing.
“She credits the grilled cheese for lunch,” he added.
Delaney Wyble had a solo blast, her fourth of the season. Centennial also got homers from two of their reserves, Emmy Ott and Etta Maurer.
Ott went 2-for-3 and had a solo homer, her second of the season. The sophomore catcher started for just the third time.
Maurer, a junior, made the most of her first at-bat of the year. She slugged a three-run homer.
“We are very fortunate right now to have depth where we have girls who are not getting consistent varsity at-bats coming in ready to perform when called on,” Delaney said.
Centennial (12-1) now leads the state with 31 homers, nine more than Dallas Center-Grimes. Kori Lincicum has contributed five homers, while Kennedy and Mady Ott each has four.
The Jaguars scored five runs in the second inning to build a 7-0 lead and then erupted for seven more in the fourth. Lauren Bartine went 2-for-2 with a double and one RBI.
Peyten Spiegel (3-0) tossed three hitless innings to earn the victory. She racked up seven strikeouts before Ashley Sterling came in to get the final three outs.
“We got a quality start out of Peyton in the circle,” Delaney said. “That allowed our defense to play their game making the routine plays and a few special ones.”
The Comets’ record dropped to 5-7.
Centennial will travel to No. 4 Valley (10-3) on Thursday for a CIML Conference game. The Tigers are 7-1 in the league and can pull into a first-place tie with the Jaguars by defeating Waukee on Wednesday.