Metro Sports Report

Sommer shines as Lions sweep Saints

Linn-Mar senior Katie Sommer is a fierce competitor who hates to sit idly by, even when she's nursing a head injury and needs to rest for a few days.

Sommer missed four games in the Linn-Mar tournament this past weekend after being hit in the head by an errant throw last Thursday, but she returned with a vengeance Tuesday and helped the Lions sweep a twinbill from Xavier, 5-4 and 12-8.

Sommer went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader with two walks, three stolen bases, four runs scored and two sensational plays at shortstop at the Linn-Mar field.

"I just wanted to come back strong," she said. "I just wanted to do it for my team. We got the job done."

Maddy Ryan (18-11) picked up the victories in both games for Linn-Mar. She tossed a complete game in the opener, then pitched 3.2 innings in relief in the nightcap as the Lions raised their records to 22-13 overall and 15-7 in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

Young Cougars sweep young Warriors

The rosters of the Washington and Kennedy softball teams tell a tale.

The Warriors have just two seniors and one junior that play, the Cougars one senior and two juniors.

Both lineups instead are packed with sophomores and freshmen. And with young first-year coaches, their future is bright.

The fact that a University of Northern Iowa assistant coach showed up at Kennedy Tuesday night to watch them play each other shows there’s talent aplenty on both sides.

Kennedy swept the doubleheader, 7-3 and 7-4, but what the college scout saw were two pretty well-pitched games with some timely hitting.

Kernels fall at Wisconsin, 1-0, in 12

APPLETON, Wis. - The Cedar Rapids Kernels spent a long, unhappy night at Fox Cities Stadium Tuesday in Appleton, Wis.

The Kernels lost to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 1-0, in 12 innings in a soggy Midwest League game before 2,849 fans.

The game took 3 hours, 24 minutes to play and there was a rain delay that lasted 1 hour, 19 minutes, putting the total time at 4 hours, 43 minutes.

Kernels staff hurt as storm hits stadium

A violent storm ripped through Veterans Memorial Stadium Monday afternoon, injuring Kernels staff members who vainly tried to roll the tarp onto the field in the midst of strong wind and heavy rains.

Several members of the grounds crew got trapped under the runaway tarp as it blew out of control and got tangled in the outfield. The long tube that normally holds the tarp rolled over at least one Kernels staff member before he/she could escape the dangerous situation.

Scott Wilson, the Kernels' assistant general manager, suffered a dislocated shoulder in the mayhem. Doug Nelson, the Kernels' general manager, suffered a bruised shoulder and lost his glasses somewhere in the outfield.

Staff members - including full-time employees, part-time employees and interns - routinely help the regular grounds crew with the tarp because it takes dozens of people to handle the massive covering. Kernels players are not allowed to help with the tarp, according to baseball rules, and were not injured.