The Urbandale baseball team stayed in the thick of the CIML Conference race with a 7-3 victory at Ankeny on Monday.
The seventh-ranked J-Hawks completed a sweep of the season series while improving to 10-5 in the league and 19-7 overall. They remained one game behind No. 5 Waukee at the top of the standings heading into a Thursday showdown between the two teams at Waukee.
Ankeny, meanwhile, suffered its seventh consecutive loss. The Hawks’ records dropped to 2-11 and 6-20.
“We have to be more productive offensively and limit the free passes on the mound,” said Ankeny coach Joe Balvanz.
Ankeny took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before Urbandale rallied for four runs in the second. The J-Hawks later added three more runs in the seventh to extend the margin to 7-1.
Brayden Kern (1-2) took the loss for the Hawks. He allowed just two hits over the first 3 1/3 innings, but also gave up five walks and hit another batter.
All four runs that he allowed were unearned.
“We had a tough second inning where we just couldn’t get off the field with two outs,” Balvanz said. “We had a kid picked off first base, and we threw the ball into left field. We just have to keep working on game situations and get more comfortable in those moments.”
Simon Venteicher doubled and had two RBIs for the J-Hawks. Xander Gutmann added a solo homer, his third of the season.
Landon Willoughby and Brody Blegen combined on a six-hitter for Urbandale, which is one of four teams within two games of the conference lead. The J-Hawks are followed closely by Johnston (10-6) and Valley (9-6).
Ryan Buffington doubled and had one RBI in the loss. Ace Parton also drove in a run.
Norman Ha went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Easton Lowe went 2-for-4.
The Hawks will host a conference doubleheader against Ankeny Centennial on Wednesday. The Jaguars are 7-9 in the league and 13-12 overall after falling to Southeast Polk, 14-3, in six innings on Monday.
Centennial won the first meeting, 11-4, on June 1.