Now that the Ankeny Centennial softball team has earned the CIML Conference title, the second-ranked Jaguars can focus their attention on a bigger prize.
Centennial captured the outright league crown with a 6-3 victory over visiting Valley in the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday. The No. 3 Tigers won the opener, 6-2, to become the first team other than No. 1 Waukee Northwest to defeat the Jaguars.
“Coach (Brett) Delaney always tells us, ‘The CIML is the best conference in the state,'” said winning pitcher Lauren Sandholm. “Winning that (conference) is pretty special, and with this group of girls it’s a good title to have and a good confidence builder going into the postseason.”
Centennial scored all six of its runs with two outs. Mady Ott hit a two-run homer in the first inning, her 14th of the season and tying her career-high.
“I think a lot of us do a good job of not trying to do too much with two outs,” said Ott. “Just trying our best to see the middle of the ball and help the team out.”
Delaney Wyble doubled with one out in the second inning. With two outs, she raced around to score on an errant pickoff attempt by Valley catcher Lily Finn.
After the Tigers got a two-run homer from Campbell Broderick in the top of the third, Centennial answered with another two-out rally in the bottom of the frame. Jordyn Kennedy got things going with a single, then Ott followed with an RBI double into the left-field corner.
“I’m just going up there with a calm approach,” said Ott, who also had a single in the fifth inning. “I’m looking for my pitch and making sure I sit and drive.”
Ava Faber then connected for a two-run homer to give the Jaguars a 6-2 advantage. It was her sixth home run of the season and the team’s 83rd.
“I was following Jordyn and Mady, and that always feels good,” said Faber. “They’re my two best friends.”
Faber usually bats second in the Centennial lineup. She went 1-for-3 in the first game while hitting ahead of Kennedy and Ott.
Delaney then moved her down to fifth for the nightcap.
“We had to mix something up a little bit,” he said. “We’ve probably had the same lineup for two or three weeks now, and we just wanted to mix something up at the end and give us another option and something for teams to think about.”
Valley got a run back in the sixth when Brynn Cibula hit a one-out single and eventually came home on a throwing error. The Tigers had two runners on when Jordyn Huffman, who represented the tying run, popped out to short to end the threat.
Sandholm (11-0) then retired the side in order in the seventh to complete a five-hitter. She allowed no earned runs, walked three and had three strikeouts.
“We were glad this (doubleheader) got moved, and we were facing a top-three team going into (the postseason),” Sandholm said. “It makes us ready for what’s to come ahead.”
Centennial finished 21-3 in the conference and is now 36-3 overall. The Jaguars tied the school record for most victories in a season that was set by the 2023 state championship squad.
“It feels great to win the conference,” Faber said. “It’s been a very hard season and a lot of good competition so it feels good to come out on top.”
Waukee Northwest had already completed league play at 20-4. Valley took third in the conference at 18-6 and is now 31-8 overall.
“I knew that we could do it,” Ott said. “We just had to learn from our mistakes in the first game.”
The Tigers used a four-run seventh inning to snap Centennial’s seven-game winning streak in the opener. Isla Brower hit a leadoff homer to break the 2-2 tie, just her second of the season.
Valley pitcher Maddie Zlomke was then hit by a pitch from Peyten Spiegel on her (left) throwing hand or wrist. Zlomke was helped to the dugout as she was replaced by a courtesy runner.
Kari Rose later drove in a run with a perfectly-placed bunt for a single. Broderick then capped the rally with a two-run single.
Zlomke returned to the circle for the bottom of the seventh and retired the Jaguars in order to close out a five-hitter. She walked one and had four strikeouts.
“It was two of the best teams in the state right there, and they found a way to get it done in the first game,” Delaney said of the Tigers. “It gave us a chance to see a few things and grow and learn. It’s something we can come back and get better on and improve as the year goes on.”
Spiegel (15-1) suffered her first loss of the season. She allowed six earned runs on nine hits despite racking up nine strikeouts.
Zlomke also homered for the Tigers, who have gone 20-4 since dropping an 11-2 decision to Centennial in six innings on June 11.
The Jaguars got solo home runs from Kori Lincicum and Kennedy. Lincicum hit her 16th of the season to tie it at 1-1 with one out in the third.
Kennedy later led off the sixth with her 18th to make it 2-2. It was the 67th of her career.
“The girls have the mindset and the confidence to come in and do it when needed,” Delaney said. “We’ve struggled some innings the last couple of days, but overall they continue to work on it and talk in the dugout and improve one by one.”
Centennial will host Sioux City East (14-26) in a Class 5A regional semifinal on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Black Raiders advanced with a 14-4 win over Council Bluffs Lincoln on Thursday.
“We’re ready,” Faber said. “We’ve been preparing all season for this.”
