Linn-Mar strikes early, dusts Washington, 9-1

CEDAR RAPIDS -- For anyone, this qualifies as a hot surge at the right time.For the Linn-Mar Lions, it serves as a sign of hope.The Lions struck for four runs in the bottom of their first at-bat, piled on four more in their last plate appearance and took down Cedar Rapids Washington, 9-1, in a Class 4A regional quarterfinal softball game Saturday night at the Jefferson Softball Complex.After an uncustomary down year in 2009 and an extremely slow start this season, the Lions (12-24) have won nine of their last 12 games."We've played better defense, we've had consistent pitching and we're getting some timely hits," said Lions Coach Jon Harms.They'll need all of the above Monday, when they return to Jefferson to face the fourth-ranked J-Hawks (33-6), who had a first-round bye.No matter what happens in the next round, the Lions can be confident that better days are ahead."We've got some young, inexperienced girls," Harms said. "It's nice to see them continue to work hard."Linn-Mar knocked the wind out of the Warriors (2-35) in the first inning, capitalizing on a pair of bunt singles, three walks and RBI singles by Kelsey Duggan and Dionna Jensen to take a 4-0 lead.Much of the rest of the game carried the same theme -- Washington threatened repeatedly, but couldn't put together a rally to make the Lions sweat.Washington got within 4-1 in the second inning on Sharayah Owens' single, but left the bases loaded. The Warriors got the first two runners on base in the third, but a double play foiled that uprising.All told, the Warriors left 10 runners on base, seven in scoring position."I don't want to say it's symbolic of the season, but I think it shows how close we are as a program," said Warriors Coach Fanaye Kifletsadik. "We're a hit away here, a couple of runs away there."Linn-Mar played a fabulous game. Every time we put some pressure on them, they handled it."The Lions blew it open with a run in the fifth and four in the sixth. Leah Beck's RBI double highlighted the rally in the sixth.Linn-Mar's first three hitters -- Lindsey Harms, Kristin Gibbs and Beck -- collected two hits apiece. Logan Smith and Owens both had two hits for Washington.

Cedar Rapids Washington....010 000 0 -- 1  7  2

Linn-Mar................................400 014 x -- 9  8  2

Kylie Drahn (L) and Sam Short. Dionna Jensen (W) and Ellie Rizor.