Red-hot Cyclones notch 17-run frame in rout of Mustangs

 HARLAN -- There are many Iowa prep baseball teams that would gladly take a plus-55 run differential at season’s end.
 Harlan Community just so happens to have reached that mark in only four games.
 Continuing to post video game-like numbers at the expense of all those in their path, the Cyclones improved to 4-0 Wednesday night with a 20-1 shellacking of Shenandoah in just three and a half innings.
 Ranked second in Class 3-A by the Iowa Baseball Coaches Association, HCHS has outscored its first four opponents by a ridiculous 64-9 margin, averaging 16 runs per game despite batting in only 18 half-innings combined.
 Wednesday’s latest victim entered the game with a 4-0 record, but the Mustangs were quickly buried under an avalanche of 17 second-inning runs as the Cyclones sent 15 batters to the plate before an out was recorded. Winning pitcher Nick Foss had three hits and scored three runs in the inning, highlighted by a pair of impressive three-run homers for six RBI.
 Off to a 3-0 start inside the Hawkeye Ten Conference, HCHS entered Thursday’s doubleheader at Creston (2-2, 1-1) batting a collective .452 with 24 stolen bases in 25 attempts. The Cyclones are stringing together great at-bats at the plate, making solid contact and running the bases like the veteran team they are.