The Ankeny baseball team has shown at times that it can compete with some of the state’s best squads.
But a bad inning or two can often prove to be the difference, and that was the case again on Saturday as the Hawks fell to a pair of opponents at Council Bluffs Lewis Central.
Ankeny opened the day with a 9-4 loss to top-ranked Sioux City East. The Hawks then dropped a 13-3 decision in six innings to the host Titans.
“Those are two really good teams,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz, whose squad dropped to 6-19 on the season. “They are the two best teams on the west side of the state.”
Sioux City East built a 5-0 lead before Ryan Wille hit a grand slam in the top of the sixth inning to pull the Hawks within a run. It was his first home run of the season.
However, the Black Raiders (28-1) then answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to seal the win. Kason Clayborne went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, while Cal Jepsen added a solo home run–his fourth of the year.
“Boy, they’re a good team,” Balvanz said. “They’re big, athletic, and they’ve got a lot of multi-sport athletes. That’s one of the best offensive lineups we’ve gone through. I thought Hunter (Minner) threw really well, but we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the baseball behind him.”
Minner (2-5) allowed four earned runs on seven hits over the first five innings. He walked none and had four strikeouts.
Bohdy Colling went the distance for East, giving up no earned runs on six hits while racking up eight strikeouts. He also had an RBI double.
Ryan Buffington went 2-for-2 and scored a run for the Hawks. Jack Romig also had a hit and scored on Wille’s blast.
In the loss to Lewis Central, Ankeny scored two runs in the top of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. But the Titans (19-3) responded with seven runs in the bottom of the inning and then added five more in the sixth to end the game.
“We had a chance to push the lead to 5-1, but we just didn’t get the job done,” Balvanz said. “And then Norman (Ha) kind of lost the feel for his pitches in that fourth inning. From there, we had a couple more defensive miscues and it kind of snowballed on us. Our defense is still good at times, but there are innings where things go sideways and that makes it hard.”
Ha (0-4) allowed six earned runs on four hits over the first 3 1/3 innings. He walked five and had three strikeouts.
Lewis Central’s Owen Duffek allowed no earned runs on five hits. He recorded seven strikeouts.
Ankeny’s Easton Lowe went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Buffington tripled and had one RBI, and Max Wade also drove in a run.
“I thought our at-bats were more mature today,” Balvanz said. “We were hitting with one strike and not just jumping on the first pitch. I do see some growth in that aspect.”
The Hawks will try to snap a six-game losing skid when they host a CIML Conference matchup against sixth-ranked Urbandale on Monday. The J-Hawks are 9-5 in the league and 18-7 overall, which includes a sweep over Ankeny on June 3.