Ryan, Johnson lead Lions regional rout

CEDAR RAPIDS – Linn-Mar brought its full arsenal to the Class 5A softball regional final Tuesday night at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Big bats. Stout pitching.

Add the two together, and the Lions are in the state tournament for the first time since 2008 after a 12-2 thumping of Davenport West in six innings.

'At the beginning of the year we had a goal sheet,” freshman Ally Johnson said. 'And most of all, our goal was to get to state, so it's really fun.”

Johnson set the tone early from the leadoff spot. A 4-for-4 night at the plate began with an opposite-field liner past first base, which turned into a three-bagger when the ball skipped between the legs of the Davenport West right fielder. Johnson scored the game's opening run a batter later when a soft fly ball off the bat of Michaela Kennedy found the center-field grass. A Maddy Ryan double scored Kennedy and the Lions led, 2-0, after an inning.

'We hit the ball all over the place,” Linn-Mar Coach John Begley said. 'And you can't hit the ball much better than we did tonight.”

Linn-Mar (25-17) pounded 14 base hits and were a run shy of its largest run total of the season.

Ryan was strong in the circle all night for the Lions, routinely keeping the ball down against the Falcon batters. The senior struck out seven and improved to 19-10 this season with 73 strikeouts.

'My dropball was real good,” Ryan said. 'I could locate it, and I could even change the height, so that really helped me out a lot.”

Davenport West (18-20) pulled within 3-2 in the top of the third inning on a two-run double by junior Sydney Schneider and seemed to be on the verge of a tie or a lead change. Ryan limited the damage by finishing the frame with a pair of punchouts, stranding two Falcon baserunners.

Apart from that two-run, four-hit third inning, Davenport West managed just one hit and did not score in the other five innings.

'I was never really that worried,” Ryan said. 'I knew my team had my back. They've always made plays behind me and they did again. They scored 12 runs. What more could a pitcher ask for?”

The bulk of those 12 runs came in an immediate, thunderous seven-run response to West's two-run third inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Linn-Mar batted around with seven hits and seven runs, all earned. Freshman Elly Schuemann and sophomore Elison Ollinger each had two-run doubles. After Davenport West starting pitcher Lexie Lizano (7-6) was pulled for reliever Chelsea Notton, Johnson immediately chipped in her second RBI double of the game as Linn-Mar finished the inning with a 10-2 lead.

Johnson reached base in all five plate appearances with four hits and a walk, scoring twice.

'They like to pitch at the outside corner and that's my favorite pitch,” Johnson said. 'So I just kept hitting it.”

The game ended with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Kennedy singled home Schuemann with the bases loaded.

The 5A state tournament begins Monday at Mittera Field in Fort Dodge. Linn-Mar opens at 3:30 p.m. against third-ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson (35-7). The teams split a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader June 9.

'It's something I've always dreamed of, Fort Dodge, ever since I was eight years old,” Ryan said. 'Finally we're here and we did it. My senior year makes it even more special. I wouldn't want any other group of girls to go with.”

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