Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR RAPIDS – Cascade showed in its meeting with second-ranked Regina on Monday why it is unbeaten and sitting atop the Class 2A rankings and the River Valley Conference South Division standings.

According to Regina coach Jeff Pacha the Regals failed to show what helped them climb toward the top of Class 2A.

Top-ranked Cascade scored three first-inning runs and rolled to a 9-1 win over No. 2 Regina in an RVC matchup of divisional leaders at Perfect Game Field in Cedar Rapids.

“That’s a very good team and they are ranked where they are at for a reason,” Pacha said. “We didn’t show them the team that we are.”  

Cascade scored in each of the first four innings, starting with a three-run first while improving to 19-0 on the season and 12-0 in RVC play.

Regina committed back-to-back errors with two outs in the first inning leading to three unearned runs and never full recovered while dropping to 14-6 and 9-2 in RVC play with its fourth consecutive loss in the last five days.

“They played better than us today and we just have to get ourselves going again, get our mojo back and starting having some fun again,” Pacha said. “We didn’t have fun today.”

It was Cascade that had the fun on Monday.

The Cougars came up with clutch hit after clutch hit, with half of their 10 hits coming with two outs as all nine Cascade runs came with two away.

“Our guys have really bought into the two-strike approach,” Cascade coach Roamn Hummel said. “They are just trying to put the ball in play and I think it’s something that once they are able to do that all the time that they see the good things that happen. Some of their better swings are with two strikes.”

The two-out damage started in the first inning.

Regina starter Mitch Gahan retired the first two hitters but Gannon O’Brien reached when Regina couldn’t handle his high pop fly on the infield.

Back-to-back Regina throwing errors followed resulting in the first two Cascade runs.

“We’ve had a little bit of an offensive lull now for four games and today I think that carried over to our defense,” Pacha said. “I think we are pressing.”

The early lead was plenty for Cascade starter Harris Hoffman who allowed just three hits in a complete game.

Hoffman struck out six and hit two while improving to 4-0 on the season while dropping his earned run average to .67.

“That’s just who he is, he can put him against any team in the state and he’s going to go out there and compete and do his best,” Cascade senior center fielder Brock Simon said of Hoffman. “It’s really impressive to watch.”

Regina got a run back in the bottom of the first when Ryan Schott plated Ryne Schooley with a towering double off the left field fence.

That would be all the Regals would get.

Cascade added single runs in the second and third and got two in the fourth on a two-out, two-run double by Simon.

“We really try to focus on getting on top right away,” Simon said. “If you get on top you can ruin a team’s confidence so it’s just really good to do that.”

Harris took care of the rest.

The junior right-hander retired 13 of the next 14 hitters following the first-inning double by Schott, allowing just a one-out single to Ryne Schooley in the third before hitting Jayden Kies with a pitch with two-out in the fifth.

Harris retired seven straight following the single by Schooley in the third, striking out the side in the fourth.

Regina has managed just five total runs during its four-game losing skid and has scored one run on six hits in its previous two games combined.

“Lulls like this are common, it’s the middle of the year when fatigue sets in and credit goes to them,” Pacha said. “Their pitcher pitched his butt off, competed really well and threw strikes with both pitches.”

Regina returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Class 3A seventh-ranked Solon.

The Regals have five of their final seven RVC games at home.

“That’s the best part about baseball is we play a lot of games and what’s important is not necessarily how we are playing right now but how we finish the year,” Pacha said. “The key is to find a way to get to where we were at two weeks ago.”

Cascade          311  200  2  –  9  10  2

Regina            100  000  0  –  1   3   2

W – Harris Hoffman   L – Mitch Gahan

2B – ICR: Ryan Schott; CAS: Reid Rausch, Riley Reed

3B – CAS: Gannon O’Brien