Cascade's Matt Bain takes a ball off the helmet as he successfully steals second base against Harriman on Friday during the Warrior Classic. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

Coming off of their gut-wrenching upset of Blackman, Cascade was destined for a letdown against Harriman on the second day of action in the Warrior Spring Classic.

Only three batters into Friday night's soggy contest, the Blue Devils were already out in front 2-0 and it looked like bad news was on the horizon for the Champions.

But, Cascade starting pitcher Kyle Clanton settled in and their bats were hot from start to finish as they rebounded for a 15-5 win.

"We started a little bit sluggish but somehow we caught fire and did a good job of swinging the bat," Champion coach Chris Parker said.

The rain clouds opened up later in the evening at Shelbyville Central High, but the thunder showed up long before the sun went down in the form of Corey Mullins' bat. The senior center fielder got the Orange and Black on the board with a solo home run in the opening frame. He wasn't done there as he also singled twice, doubled, stole two bases and scored three runs.

Mullins wasn't the only member of the Cascade lineup spraying hits around the ball field. Clanton did his part at the plate with two singles, a triple and three RBIs. Justin Bryant and Josh Brown tallied two hits and two RBIs apiece. MoMo Stewart singled twice.

The Champion defense committed a pair of errors and Clanton plunked a pair of batters to aid Harriman's scoring three runs on only one hit to cut their deficit to 9-5 entering the fifth.

Champion shortstop MoMo Stewart singles in the game-winning run to finish off Harriman. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

Cascade (9-1) didn't take kindly to the Blue Devil threat, bringing home six runs on four hits, the last of which was a walk-off single by Stewart that evoked the run rule by scoring Clanton.

"We tell them all the time up on the mound or up there at bat, 'Don't be some kind of fish. Be a shark. Smell the blood in the water. Go out there and go get it. Do your job,'" said Parker of how his team finished off Harriman when given the opportunity.

Clanton worked three innings on the hill and got the win. Jay Bishop provided a pair of hitless innings in relief.

"Kyle Clanton battled there on the mound," Parker said. "Jay Bishop did an excellent job once again coming in in relief. He's really grown up as a pitcher, and he's doing a good job for us. He's a guy we're really going to be able to count on in the future."

Sending the crowd home six outs early saves the Champs from extending themselves further with their pitching staff at the midway point of a minimum of eight games in eight days.

"Any time all throughout the year that you can save pitches thrown and innings pitched, it's good," Parker said. "What matters most is May and that's what we're working toward. We want to be fresh and ready to go in May."

A.J. Johnson and Nathan Smith tallied two hits each for the Blue Devils.