(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The strategy for the Ankeny Centennial baseball team entering Friday’s Class 4A substate quarterfinal was just to try to win each inning.
That effort resulted in the Jaguars amassing 12 runs off 14 hits–highlighted by an eight-run fourth inning–in a 12-4 victory over visiting Dallas Center-Grimes that featured a five-RBI night from Alex Cory and another strong outing from starting pitcher Eli Starr.
“We’ve talked about, in the postseason especially, just winning innings,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey, whose team improved to 20-15. “We were just trying to cut the game down so you’re not looking at it holistically like a seven-inning game. You’re just looking at it like seven one-inning games. We didn’t lose an inning tonight.”
Getting the bats going early against the Mustangs (16-16) was one of the keys to success according to senior third baseman Will Morris after Centennial’s doubleheader split against Urbandale to close out the regular season on Monday.
The Jaguars did just that with Will Nesler and Trae Houser recording back-to-back singles before Morris drew a walk that left the bases loaded with no outs to open up the bottom of the first inning.
Cory then followed with a two-run single off Dallas Center-Grimes starter Brady Smith, erasing the Mustangs’ 1-0 lead.
“I was just looking for a fastball,” Cory said. “(Smith) was throwing lefties a ton of fastballs. I would wait for it, and I got it.”
Centennial extended its lead in the third inning after Nesler went all the way to third on a throwing error. He came home on a single by Morris to make it 3-1.
Dallas Center-Grimes tried to steal some momentum back with a pair of RBI doubles in the fourth to tie it up. The Jaguars responded, though, by batting around in the bottom of the inning and breaking the game open with their eight-run outburst.
Cade Newman and Starr both recorded singles before No. 9 hitter Nolan Powell hit a two-run single. Houser soon followed with an RBI single to make it 6-3.
“(Smith) is such an outstanding pitcher, and he’s just an outstanding athlete,” Hey said. “The at-bats we put together against him were really, really impressive, especially in (the fourth) inning.”
With two outs and runners on second and third, Cory hammered a pitch from the St. Thomas commit over the right-field fence for a three-run homer. It was Cory’s second homer of the season and Centennial’s 11th overall.
“I knew it was gone right away,” Cory said. “I was just kind of running around the bases, I was happy, and I knew the win was coming after that. It was great.”
Even after a pitching change, Brekken Miller and Newman got on base with singles before Owen Gasperi drove them in with a triple to give Centennial an 11-3 advantage.
Houser provided the Jaguars’ final run in the bottom of the fifth. He caught the Mustangs off guard and stole home after a pitch to Newman.
Starr (5-2) benefited from the double-digit run support from his teammates. He went on to finish six innings on just 81 pitches, allowing three earned runs on seven hits while racking up six strikeouts.
“Especially on the mound it’s a confidence booster,” Starr said of the team’s run support. “When they can get them going early, we can keep them going and if we get a few runs early it gives me a little bit more confidence.”
The Mustangs got on the board in the first inning on a throwing error on a steal attempt. But outside of the back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth, their only other run came on an RBI grounder from Cross Bandy in the fifth.
“I definitely didn’t have my best stuff today,” Starr said. “My velo was definitely down. My slider was working, my curveball was working, and my change up. I didn’t have any fear at any moment just knowing my offense was behind me.”
The Jaguars didn’t need to rely much on their bullpen depth to close out the game. Connor Williams needed just 12 pitches to get the final three outs–all of them by strikeout.
“Eli pitched a great game, and it was great seeing Connor come in,” Hey said. “We wanted to give him an inning to just shake things off, he came in and struck out the side. That was good to see.”
Centennial advanced to Monday’s substate semifinal at CIML Conference rival Valley (21-15). The Tigers are coming off a 17-0 victory over Des Moines East in four innings, getting a combined one-hitter from McCabe Hukee and Leighton Hukee.
The two teams met only once during the regular season when Centennial posted a 10-1 victory at Valley on June 11. A doubleheader on July 2 was cancelled due to rain.
“I think what we have to do is just worry about ourselves and have the same approach we had tonight,” said Hey, whose team finished in a tie with the Tigers for fourth place in the conference. “Just try to cut it down to seven one-inning ball games, have a plan on how we want to attack (Valley’s) pitcher and execute that attack.”
The winner of the game will advance to the substate final on Wednesday at 10th-ranked Cedar Falls (23-13).
