In a season full of improbable comebacks by the Ankeny Centennial softball team, the Jaguars’ latest rally from an almost certain defeat may have been the most miraculous one yet.
Down to its final out, second-ranked Centennial rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to forge an 8-8 tie against No. 7 Dowling Catholic on Wednesday. Kori Lincicum then hit a walk-off double in the eighth to drive in pinch-runner Lydia Lacey from first base, giving the Jaguars a thrilling 9-8 victory.
“We hadn’t had an extra-inning game yet, so we figured why not put an extra-inning game in the cards before we get to postseason play,” joked Centennial coach Brett Delaney afterwards. “This team just never gives up, even if it comes all the way down to that final out. They had two outs in the seventh, but we found a way to put some runs on the board and send it to extras.”
After Dowling erupted for eight runs in the fifth inning to take an 8-4 lead, the Maroons then relied on their defense to put themselves just one out away from a huge upset. They turned an incredible 4-6-3 double play to end the sixth inning, then turned a pop fly by Lincicum into another double play in the seventh.
Following a single by Ava Faber that kept Centennial alive, Dowling made what proved to be a fatal defensive mistake. A routine grounder to second by Jordyn Kennedy was thrown away for an error, giving the Jaguars some renewed hope.
Mady Ott followed with a three-run homer to cut the deficit to 8-7. It was her 13th blast of the season.
Mylie Hatfield drew a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Addi Frederick. Frederick went to second on a wild pitch, then raced home with the tying run when Delaney Wyble blooped a triple down the right-field line.
“They took advantage of a few of our mistakes early in the game, and then when they gave us an opportunity to take advantage of one of their (mistakes), we found a way to do that in what was really a well-played game by both teams,” Delaney said.
In the eighth, Cami Starr led off with a single and was replaced by Lacey. With one out, Lincicum drove a pitch from eighth grader Jesse Jefferson into the gap in right-center field, and Lacey just beat the relay throw to the plate for the game-winning run.
Lincicum (5-0) also earned the victory with three scoreless innings of relief. She allowed just one hit and had five strikeouts.
“Peyten (Spiegel) started and just had a little off night, and that was going to happen eventually,” Delaney said. “It just wasn’t her night, so we went to Lyla (Hoeppner) and then to Mylie and then to Kori, who came in and was lights out and shut it down. She was a big-time senior to step up in that opportunity and keep us in the game, and then our bats fought. We got some hits when we needed them.”
Centennial took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a two-run homer by Faber, her fifth of the season. The Jaguars extended the margin to 4-0 in the fourth on back-to-back blasts by Hatfield and Wyble.
After Hatfield connected for her 13th homer, Wyble followed with her seventh. Centennial has now hit a state-record 77 home runs, putting the Jaguars within striking distance of reaching triple digits.
Faber, Hatfield, Wyble, Starr and Emmy Ott each had two hits in the win.
Centennial improved to 18-2 in the CIML Conference and 32-2 overall, while the Maroons’ records dropped to 8-13 and 16-14. The Jaguars remained a half-game ahead of No. 1 Waukee Northwest, which is now 18-3 in the league after posting a 9-3 win at Ankeny.
Centennial will host a conference doubleheader against No. 3 Valley (15-5, 26-7) on Thursday. The Jaguars rolled to an 11-2 win at Valley on June 11.
