The Ankeny Christian Academy baseball team has advanced to a Class 1A substate final for the third consecutive year.
And this time, the Eagles won’t have to play their longtime nemesis from Lynnville-Sully.
ACA will face third-ranked Saint Ansgar on Tuesday at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows after rolling to a 9-2 victory over AGWSR in a district final on Saturday at North Polk Middle School. The Eagles (28-5) have ended their season with a loss to Lynnville-Sully in each of the last three years, including in the substate final in both 2024 and 2025.
“We can beat anybody,” said ACA senior outfielder Lucas Herbel. “If we play like we did tonight, we can win the whole thing.”
Herbel hit a two-run homer and three ACA pitchers combined on a three-hitter as the Eagles posted their ninth consecutive win. AGWSR ended the season at 14-13.
“I thought we showcased all of our talent tonight,” Herbel said.
Landon Curtis (8-1) and Tyler Davis each pitched three solid innings before Lucas Erickson took the mound to get the final three outs. The trio walked seven while recording five strikeouts.
“You just never know what you’re going to get with some of these umpires–it’s hard to hit some of their zones,” said ACA coach Konrad Christensen. “I talked to Curt after he had thrown 63 pitches, and he said to give (the ball) to Davis. He wanted to make the right move, and then Erickson came in and closed great.”
The Eagles shared the pitching duties–as they often do during the postseason–to keep all three hurlers eligible for Tuesday’s game.
“We do that a lot, and I think it usually works pretty well,” Davis said.
After ACA used a five-run third inning to build a 7-1 lead, Davis replaced Curtis in the fourth and initially struggled with his control. The Cougars loaded the bases with two outs on a single and a pair of walks, then scored a run on a wild pitch.
Bo Starr then hit a sinking line drive to right field that looked like an apparent base hit. However, ACA sophomore Anthony Abbas made a diving catch to end the threat.
“That was huge,” Davis said. “That saved a bunch of runs for us.”
Christensen called it the play of the game.
“They were really threatening, and he dives and just breaks their heart,” Christensen said.
In the bottom of the inning, the Eagles capped off their victory with Herbel’s blast to right field. He followed a leadoff walk to Davis with his first home run of the season.
“It was high, and I had already seen that pitch,” Herbel said. “I kind of just put the bat to it. I didn’t swing too hard but I just put the bat to it, and it left.”
It was the second career homer for the speedy Herbel, who entered the game with just five extra-base hits among his 36 hits this season.
“Honestly, I was kind of surprised that it went out,” Herbel said. “I was rounding first and I was thinking three (bases) all the way, and it ended up leaving.”
Davis and Erickson then cruised through the final three innings, retiring nine of the last 10 AGWSR batters. Erickson needed just 12 pitches to work a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
“We’re really resilient, and we have belief in our abilities in what we can do,” said ACA catcher Andrew Mora.
Mora helped the Eagles get off to a good start with some adventurous base running in the first inning. He hit a leadoff single, then went to third on an errant throw.
With one out, Mora raced for home on Davis’ grounder to short, but got caught in a rundown. However, he eventually scored when AGWSR pitcher Clay Buseman dropped the ball while trying to make a tag.
“I’m going to be honest, that was probably some of the worst base running I’ve had all year–probably my whole life,” Mora said. “But I felt like when they were in the basepaths I could almost sense their fear, and I kind of just made them run themselves into some bad plays. I felt good about it.”
Davis went all the way to third on the play, then came home when Buseman committed a balk.
“They gave us a couple runs,” Christensen said. “I talked to their coach (Adam Clark), and he said we put pressure on them like nobody has all year. They stopped communicating and started yelling at each other, and that’s Ankeny Christian baseball. Just be aggressive and make the other team make mistakes.”
The Cougars closed the gap to 2-1 on an RBI double by Tristen Dennis in the third, but ACA then broke the game open in the bottom of the inning. Brody Butler hit a two-run single, Erickson drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run, and Braley Miller added a two-run single.
“I think it was really important to get that early lead,” Mora said. “That’s something we’ve been doing all year.”
Herbel went 3-for-4 in the win to raise his average to .481. Miller and Mora each went 2-for-3.
Tuesday’s game will be part of a substate doubleheader. It will start at 5 p.m. and will be followed by a Class 2A matchup between Pocahontas Area and Roland-Story.
Saint Ansgar (24-3) has yet to allow a run in postseason play. The Saints recorded back-to-back shutouts over Belmond-Klemme and North Butler to win the district title.
“It sounds like they have great pitching–they attack the zone–so it’s going to be a low-scoring game,” Christensen said. “We’ve got to work on our bunt defense, and we’ve got to be able to bunt and run and hit and run–and just be aggressive that way.”
The Eagles may again have to rely on all three of their top pitchers.
“Hopefully, we can shut them down,” Davis said.
