Lightning strikes for Cascade

CASCADE - The weather was inconsistent Wednesday night, raining off and on with gusts of wind and sporadic lightening.The weather sent fans walking for cover on multiple occasions.Cascade starting pitcher Nick Hunt and the Cougar fielding, however were anything but inconsistent.Hunt found the strike zone early and often, sending Linn-Mar batters walking to the bench for cover.Cascade beat Linn-Mar in a nonconference high school baseball game, 2-0, on two walked-in runs. Cascade's defense smothered the Lions, holding them to two hits.“My fastball was working early on,” Hunt said. “They started hitting it, so later in the game my curveball was big.”This was a big win for the 9-11 Cougars. Linn-Mar (16-8) entered the game having won 11 of its last 12 games, the only loss against Class 4A top-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy.“This is big for our confidence, to come out here and beat a very good team,” Cascade Coach Roamn Hummel said. “We've had an up-and-down season. This is what I've been telling our guys we're capable of.”Linn-Mar's defense was strong as well.Tyler Kane, in his first start, and his replacement, Keaton Blackford, pitched fairly well, except for the two walked-in runs in the bottom of the third. But the Lions couldn't find the offense that carried them through the 10-game winning streak.Cascade's offense was more smoke than fire. It threatened often, but failed to score on most occasions, leaving 10 runners stranded.“We didn't have that big hit to blow the game open,” Hummel said.With only one strike and three outs needed to end the game in the sixth inning, the umpires called a 30-minute delay because of lightning. The Cascade fans turned into storm spotters, calling out lightning for the umpires, hoping to go home early with the win. But the game was resumed after the delay, and the Cougars coasted to the win.