SOLON — The air was filled with the crack of bats and the roar of crowds Saturday, June 11 at the Solon Recreation and Nature Area (SRNA) as 17 youth baseball teams and six varsity squads competed in the 2022 Crosstown Classic sponsored by the Fight With Flash Foundation.
The organization has held the day-long rivalry contests since 2015 in memory of Austin “Flash” Schroeder who lost a yearlong battle to T-cell lymphoma April 28, 2015. It was realized 04282015 equaled 22, Flash’s baseball jersey number. Since then, The Fight with Flash Foundation has raised well over $600,000 for the Stead Family Children’s Hospital at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for pediatric cancer. This year, Fight with Flash joined with the recently formed OS14 Foundation and the I’m Glad You Stayed Project. OS14 honors the memory of Liberty High School student Owen Skelley, who committed suicide in March at the age of 15 while Glady You Stayed is devoted to awareness of mental health issues.
Solon and Iowa City High opened the day with the Little Hawks soaring 8-1 over the Spartans.
Jacob Timmons drove Gehrig Turner home for the single run. Colin Werner and Tyson Wheeler had one hit apiece, and Wheeler pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up one hit and one earned run. Parker Pentico pitched 5-1/3 innings giving up six hits and six earned runs. He walked three and struck out two.
Solon dipped to 9-12 while City improved to 16-6.
In other Crosstown Classic action Iowa City West High improved to 12-9 with a 10-2 shelling of Regina Catholic, and Liberty High outlasted Clear Creek Amana (CCA) 21-15 in the marquee game, which saw the Clippers score ten runs in the first inning. CCA dipped to 12-3 while the Bolts improved to 9-12.