Linn-Mar splits doubleheader with Cedar Falls

CEDAR FALLS - Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner was glad just to have his team on a baseball diamond instead of a football field.

Rainouts have plagued many teams this season and the Lions have faced limitations with wet grounds and batting cages. They have made the most of it.

'I've tried to invent some things a little bit in practice,” said Lechner, whose team took grounders on the Linn-Mar football stadium's Field turf. 'We've had good practices. We just need to get out and play and work through things.”

The Class 4A seventh-ranked Linn-Mar managed to split a Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division doubleheader against Cedar Falls last night at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex. The Lions won the nightcap, 6-0, rebounding from a 4-1 loss.

'We had a long wait,” said senior Andrew Gassmann, who led the Lions with three hits including two in the opener. 'We tried to come out ready but we finally got in the swing of things in the second game and came back strong.”

The Lions (14-5, 8-4 MVC) took control of the nightcap, capitalizing on miscues by Cedar Falls. They tallied four runs, scoring two on a Tigers' throwing error and receiving an RBI single from Austin McCulloh.

Linn-Mar increased its lead in the sixth. Ryan Wyant led off with his second single of the game and Adam Stolley belted his first home run of the season over the right field fence with two out, bringing in Wyant.

Tyler Annis, Jake Brandt and Gassmann combined on the shutout. Annis earned his first win this season, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the third with consecutive strikeouts and stranding two runners in the fourth.

'Tyler gave us a lift on the mound,” Lechner said. 'We needed a good start out of him, which he provided. That helps and you get more confident on defense at the plate as well.”

The Lions suffered some errors and missed opportunities in the first game. They committed four errors in the second inning, leading to a pair of runs for Cedar Falls (14-8, 11-7). Linn-Mar also managed only one run in the fourth after loading the bases with none out. Taylor Yoke's base hit scored Gassmann.

'We just didn't play clean enough on defense for a chance to beat a good team,” Lechner said. 'We had some nice plays on the day, but you can't make four errors and expect to win.”

Now, the Lions head to a week with games against fourth-ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson and No. 8 Cedar Rapids Prairie. They are prepared for more time on the field and ready for the grind.

'We are just trying to get better every day,” Gassmann said. 'Maybe we can steal some games here and there.”

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