The Cascade Champions are off to a 3-1 start on the season after beating Richland and Huntland on Thursday and Monday, respectively.
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The Cascade Champions went on the road and laid the smackdown on the Huntland Hornets, 18-3 after 5 innings, on a cold and windy Monday evening after narrowly defeating the Richland Raiders at home, 8-7, on Thursday.
Walker Craig hit a 3-run home run in the second inning, his first of the year, while also drawing three walks. The Hornets staff as a whole issued 12 free passes to Cascade hitters which significantly contributed to those 18 runs. When Huntland pitchers were able to throw strikes, the visiting hitters were able to put the bat on the ball to the tune of 15 base-knocks.
Jayden Hathcock went two complete innings to start, striking out six of the seven batters he faced. He continues his scoreless streak to start the season. Logan Green, Luke Harris, and James Magee all got an inning of work with the massive lead.
Hathcock was also effective at the plate, picking up a triple in the second inning to clear the bases before coming around to score himself on a throwing error by the Hornets for a 4-RBI at-bat.
Cascade put up three runs in the first inning, and then five runs in each of the next three before Travis Sheffield started to get some of the younger guys playing time. Huntland would tack on three runs thanks to a pair of fielding errors in the fourth inning, but despite this, Cascade was able to close things out in the fifth to improve to 3-1.
Against Richland, Logan Green hit his first home run of the season in the second inning to go up 3-2, but then the Raiders responded with a 3-run third inning.
Cascade would plate a trio of runs themselves in the fifth inning before re-taking the lead in the bottom of the sixth, 8-5. A Connor Melson sacrifice-bunt scored a run, Sawyer Lovvorn got hit by a pitch for the second time in the game with the bases loaded, and then Logan Pulley singled home a third run.
Richland’s Colton Trimble homered to center field in the top of the seventh to cut the Cascade lead down to one run, but Lovvorn was able to settle down on the mound to shut the door for the Raiders and secure Cascade’s home-opening win.
Zach Crosslin got the start for Cascade, going four complete innings while giving up five runs and striking out two hitters. He also walked one batter.
Sawyer Lovvorn came in at the start of the fifth inning, closing out the final three innings allowing just the two runs on the Trimble homer while strking out four Richland hitters and not issuing a single walk.
It was a much more insprired performance by the visitors than Cascade saw in the first meeting earlier in the week when the Champs won 8-0, but the hosts were able to hold on in the end to start the season undefeated at home.
