Another productive, stingy night for Sommer

CEDAR RAPIDS - All that information is at her fingertips. But Katie Sommer doesn't peek.

'I don't look at Quik Stats much,” she said. 'When I do, it throws me off. So I stay away from it.”

The leadoff batter and a vacuum at shortstop for resurgent Linn-Mar, Sommer ranks in the top five statewide in three major offensive categories - runs, hits and stolen bases.

She added to those totals mightily Tuesday night as the Lions swept Cedar Rapids Washington 4-0 and 11-5 in a Mississippi Valley Conference softball double-header at Washington/Franklin Field.

Sommer was 6-for-9 Tuesday, swiping three bases and scoring five times. Basically, she did what a leadoff hitter should do.

'I'm there to get on base, get the team going and be a leader,” she said.

Or, in the words of Washington Coach Erin Jones:

'She's one of the best players in the state. She's athletic, and she's a nuisance. We couldn't get her out.”

Sommer and her twin Kristie moved into the Linn-Mar district about a year ago after enjoying all-state junior seasons last year at Dubuque Senior.

Big net gain for the Lions (18-9 overall, 13-5 MVC).

'I'd put Katie at the top of the players I've coached,” said Lions Coach John Begley, who has been around a long time and coached some top-notch players at Solon. 'She gets to balls nobody else can get to.”

As prolific as Sommer is at the plate and on the basepaths, she's happier to take runs and hit away from the opposition.

'I love fielding,” she said. 'I love being in the dirt, getting down and dirty.”

The Warriors (17-8, 11-7) stymied Sommer the first two times she came to the plate, then she reached the next seven. The climax came in the fifth inning of the nightcap, when she scored all the way from second base on a wild pitch.

'Holy cow, is she quick,” Begley said. 'If a team blanks out, for just a second, she's going to make them pay.”

The Sommers will play basketball and softball at Wartburg College next year.

'I've been in touch with Iowa State a little, and I'd love to play Division-I softball,” she said. 'But I'm not ready to give up basketball yet.”

Linn-Mar's Maddy Ryan pitched 10 scoreless innings, including a two-hitter in the opener. She also jacked a three-run homer in Game 2.

Washington is enjoying its first winning season since 1999, and Jones was anything but down after Tuesday's outcome.

'They're tough losses because they're conference losses,” she said. 'But the kids did fight.

'We had two goals before the season - to finish above .500 and to win our first (regional) game. Both are realistic.”

LINN-MAR 4, C.R. WASHINGTON 0 (Game 1)

Linn-Mar 300 000 1 - 4 9 0

C.R. Washington 000 000 0 - 0 2 2

Maddy Ryan and Christina Lincoln. Payton Bruner and Anne Riley. W - Ryan (13-9). L - Bruner (8-5).

LINN-MAR 11, C.R. WASHINGTON 5 (Game 2)

Linn-Mar 300 322 1 - 11 12 1

C.R. Washington 001 004 0 - 5 10 3

Maddy Ryan, Ellison Ollinger (3), Morgan Braughton (4), Ryan (7) and Christina Lincoln. Emily Oler, Erica Oler (5) and Jessica Puk. W - Ryan (14-9). L - Em.Oler (7-4). HR - LM: Ryan (2).

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