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Ankeny Hawks motivated by 'unfinished business' on the diamond

The Ankeny Hawks return most of their team from a season ago and are setting out to win the Class 4A title they were a win short of in 2020.

ANKENY, Iowa — Everywhere you look on the baseball diamond in Ankeny, the hair is flow-tastic.

“Flow season, that’s what we like to call it around here,” said senior Jase Bauer.

But don’t let the long locks fool you, Ankeny is very much all business.

“That’s a big part of why I cam back this year, we have some unfinished business to take care of," senior Brody Brecht added. "When you’re feeling bad that can kind of drive you to work harder."

This team hasn’t forgotten what happened a summer ago, losing in the 4A title game to Johnston.

“The goal has been to take that last step, we know what second place felt like last year and don’t really want to experience it again,” head coach Joe Balvanz said.

That’s a big part of why a lot of these seniors returned.

“We’ve been playing together since we were five, so we’ve always played together and none of us wanted to play our last year together," Brecht said. "So we all kind of said 'Hey man we’re going to all do this together we’re either going to win it together or lose it together.'"

“It’s truly a blessing that we’re all back: me, Brody, and some other guys that could be going off to college. Everyone’s back, it’s really a blessing,” Bauer said.

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It also makes for a loaded lineup every night.

“When you’ve got guys that can hit, I think the speed is the one thing that makes us different," Balvanz said. "Some depth in pitching helps as well with guys like [Weston] Fulk and Brecht and what Jase can do up the middle is a luxury that most teams don’t have."

That will be key if the Hawks want to hoist championship hardware on the last night of the baseball season.

“We just gotta get locked in and I’m enjoying the ride and I can’t wait,” Bauer said.

Brecht added, “You know just kind of leave my legacy hopefully it’s a good one and it’d just be a dream come true.”

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