The Ankeny Centennial baseball team entered Thursday’s game at Johnston with a chance to win the season series and move into a tie with the Dragons and Waukee Northwest for fourth place in the CIML Conference.
In a game that featured seven lead changes and two ties, Johnston eventually outlasted the Jaguars for a 13-12 victory in eight innings. The Dragons scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to extend the game, then walked it off with two outs in the eighth.
“It was a great high school game,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey. “I’m so proud of our team. We kept battling against a very talented Johnston team.”
Centennial used a four-run second inning to take a 5-3 lead and later scored three runs in the sixth to break a 7-7 tie, but could not hold off the Dragons. Colton Arndt (0-2) took the loss in relief of Brekken Miller, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits over the final 3 2/3 innings.
Nolan Powell went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs in the loss. Will Nesler went 3-for-5 with two doubles and drove in a pair of runs.
Owen Gasperi went 2-for-5 with a solo homer, his third in the last two games. Will Morris went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Cade Newman went 2-for-4 and knocked in a run.
Johnston’s Trevin Helming went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs. Max Mincks went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.
The Dragons improved to 9-6 in the conference and 11-9 overall. Centennial’s records dropped to 7-8 and 11-11.
The Jaguars will host a non-conference doubleheader against Davenport North (15-6) on Friday.