Clear Lake baseball still rolling; move record to 7-1

(Above) Clear Lake’s Jacob Peterson winds up for a pitch in a recent home game.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Clear Lake Lions remained the top ranked team in Class 2A after improving their overall record to 7-1 last week.  This week the Lions are home tonight (Wednesday, June 8) to face Algona.  Thursday the team will be at Garner and Friday they are back home to host Mason City.  Next week includes a trip to Hampton-Dumont Monday, June 13 and playing Webster City at home Tuesday, June 14.

CL 9, IF-A 1

The Lions opened up North Central Conference play Wednesday, June 1, with a 9-1 victory at Iowa Falls-Alden.

Ethan McHenry had three hits and two RBI, while Tanner Huey also knocked in two to lead the Lions.

The Lions jumped out to a quick lead, plating three runs in the top of the first and another in the third.  Cooper Merrill set the tone with a double hit off the left field wall.

Clear lake broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning and added one more in the sixth.

Brad Burns and Parker Truesdell each had a pair of hits.  Burns, Merrill and Ben Mason smashed doubles.

Mason went the distance for the Lions, striking out eight in picking up the win. He allowed seven hits and walked two.

“Any win you can get on the road in conference play is a big one,” said Coach Seth Thompson.  “Their starting pitcher had some really good stuff and we did a nice job of putting pressure on him, starting with the opening at-bat of the game.   We had a number of very good at bats I felt and Ben did a great job on the mound keeping their hitters off balance.  Our defense is still a work in progress but this was a great win for our team.”

CL 5, Central Springs 3

Brad Burns struck out 13 in six innings of work to help the Lions beat Central Springs 5-3 Thursday in non-conference baseball.

Coach Thompson said he was pleased with his teams’ outing— at least through the first four innings when they put all their runs on the board.  “But then our batters kind of fell asleep and luckily our defense and pitching was able to hold the 5-0 lead we had after four innings,” he said.  “Brad was chucking it pretty hard on the mound tonight, evidenced by 13 strike-outs in six innings.”

Parker Truesdell came in to strike out the side in the seventh inning for the save.

The top of the Lion batting order was key, as Cooper Merrill and Zach Lester each had three hits.  Two of Lester’s hits were doubles.

Parker Truesdell and Tanner Huey each reached base on singles.

CL 12, C-G-D (5)

It was back to North Central Conference play on Friday night, as the Lions hosted Clarion-Goldfield-Dows.  Due to the threat of rain, the varsity teams took the field first, which caused Coach Thompson to worry a bit about how sharp his team would be out of the usual game routine.  The change did nothing to slow the Lions, as they rolled, 12-0 in five innings.

“We came out very sharp in all facets of the game and end up with a very efficient 12-0 win in only five innings of play,” said Thompson.

Jacob Peterson was also stellar on the mound, striking out five and giving up just three hits.

“Jacob did a great job of just pounding the strike zone and getting his defense off the field.  Offensively,  we got hits up and down the lineup to keep the bases full of Lions most of the game,” added the coach.

Ben Mason led the way with three hits and an RBI.  Cooper Merrill, Brad Burns, Parker Truesdell and Tanner Huey had two hits apiece.  Merrill picked up three RBIs, while Huey, David Vohs and Jackson Hamlin had two RBIs apiece.

CL 17, Ames 4 (5)

The Lions played lights out in the River City Classic played Saturday in Mason City.  Clear Lake scored 31 runs on their way to wins over a pair of Class 4A teams.

They blasted Ames 17-4 in Friday’s opener.

“For whatever reason, it is usu

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ally at this point of the season during the River City Classic that our offense starts to come alive and put some crooked numbers up on the scoreboard,” said Coach Seth Thompson.  “To get 12 hits in only five innings of play and put 17 runs up on the board against a 4A school is a pretty impressive feat.”

A highlight of the weekend for Thompson was seeing sophomore pitcher Jackson Hamlin perform so well.  Hamlin struck out four on his way to the five inning win.  He was touched for six hits.

“One of my favorite things about coaching high school baseball is getting the chance to see kids come in as eighth grade boys and leave as young men, and I think we saw Jackson Hamlin on the mound tonight take a lot of big steps getting a complete game win against a good team in his first varsity start.”

The Lions amassed a dozen in the shortened game, led by Zach Lester and Ethan McHenry with three apiece.  One of Lester’s hits was a double, while McHenry smashed a homer and was the team’s RBI leader with three.  Hamlin helped his cause with two hits.  David Vohs also had an extra base hit with a double which scored two runs.

CL 14, Lewis Central 6

The Lions kept rolling in Saturday’s nightcap by earned a 14-6 victory over seventh ranked (4A) Lewis Central of Council Bluffs.

An eight-run fourth inning broke the game open and gave the Lions all the insurance they would need to survive a Lewis Central rally late in the game.

Ethan McHenry earned the win, giving up two hits and striking out four through five innings. He walked four. Cooper Merrill came in to throw the final two frames. He gave up two earned runs, four hits and walked one.  He struck out four.

“Ethan was pitching very well against a very good hitting team, and our offense just  kept the momentum from earlier in the day going all game long,” said Coach Thompson.   

The Lions pounded out 14 hits, led by Ben Mason and Tanner Huey with three apiece.  Huey had three RBIs from his hits.

Cooper Merrill had just one hit, but it was a triple which scored a run.  David Vohs had the only other extra base hit, a double.  Vohs and McHenry each had a pair of hits in the game.

“This was an incredibly impressive win for these kids, finding a way to put up 14 runs against one of the better teams in the state,” said Thompson.  “To not just win, but win in a very decisive manner, says a lot about what these kids are capable of when they play hard and play together as a team.”

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