A five-run outburst in the sixth inning allowed the Ankeny Centennial baseball team to rally for a 5-2 victory at 10th-ranked Waukee Northwest on Thursday.
The Jaguars avenged a doubleheader loss on June 5 while moving within a game of third place in the CIML Conference. They are now 10-9 in the league and 16-12 overall, while Northwest’s records dropped to 8-9 and 16-11.
Cade Newman and Jacob Battershell each drove in a run to ignite Centennial’s comeback, tying the game at 2-2. Will Nesler hit a go-ahead, two-run double and then came home on another double by Trae Houser.
Nolan Powell went 2-for-3 and scored a run for the Jaguars. Brekken Miller had a double.
Miller (3-2) was also the winning pitcher. He allowed two earned runs on six hits over the first six innings while walking four and recording nine strikeouts.
Colton Arndt tossed a scoreless inning of relief to close out the game. He allowed one hit and also hit a batter but left both runners stranded.
Centennial will host a pair of games in the Brent Prange Classic on Saturday. The Jaguars will face Algona (17-7) at 10 a.m. and No. 3 Cedar Rapids Prairie (21-5) at 2:30 p.m.