Hopes are dashed for NCC title

[caption id="attachment_11465" align="alignleft" width="189"] Ethan McHenry was on the mound for the Lions against St. Eds. He allowed only five hits in the game and struck out two. -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy[/caption]

Fort Dodge St. Edmond dashed Clear Lake’s North Central Conference title hopes last week, leaving the Lions as runner-up in the NCC.  But Coach Seth Thompson is hoping the sour taste of that loss will make the Lions even more hungry for a State Tournament berth when post-season play begins this week.

Clear Lake started its quest for State Tuesday night, facing Central Springs in a second round game.  The Panthers defeated West Fork in the first round, while Clear Lake had a bye.  Results were not available by presstime.  The winner is set to play in the District final at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 18, on the Clear Lake diamond. The District winner will meet the winner from District 3 in a Sub-State game slated for 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, at Bishop Garrigan, Algona.

Clear Lake ended the regular season at 24-11 and were 11-3 in NCC play, which was second to Humboldt.  In the final rankings of the season Clear Lake was rated number five in Class 2A.

CL 3, H-D 2

The Lions stayed alive in the North Central Conference baseball race Monday, July 6, with a 3-2, 10-inning win over Hampton-Dumont.  The game was scheduled to be played at Hampton, but was moved to Clear Lake due to wet conditions in Hampton.

The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard first when an unearned run crossed home plate in the bottom of the first.  The Lions tied the game in the top of the fourth when Jacob Hogan smacked a two-out double, followed by an RBI single by Rowdy Yates.

Clear Lake put pressure on the Bulldogs in the top of the 10th by scoring two runs.

Cooper Merrill started things off with a leadoff double and Mitch Keeran brought Merrill home on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice.  On the next play, Keeran instigated a run-down to allow Brock Adams to score from third and give the Lions a 3-1 lead.

Hampton-Dumont tried to rally with two outs in the bottom of the 10th and scored one more run before  Ben Mason struck out a batter for the final out.

Adams pitched eight innings, allowing six hits and one earned run.  He struck out nine and walked two.  Mason earned the win, giving up three hits in two innings of work.  He struck out two.

“The two pitchers that took the mound tonight were two of the best pitchers this year in our conference, so it wasn’t surprising to see a low-scoring game that came down to a couple key at bats,” said Coach Seth Thompson.  “This was Brock’s first start in three weeks because of some shoulder issues, and it was great to see him back up there pitching and pitching very well.  Ben has had to step up for his team as a pitcher the last three weeks because of Brock being out and like he has done all year, he just found a way to get the outs his team needed there at the end.   This was a big win for us against one of the better teams in our conference.”

CL 22, IF-A 6

The Lions dominated Iowa Falls-Alden in another NCC game on Tuesday, July 7.  Clear Lake stopped the Cadets in five innings, 22-6.

The Lions jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first inning and led 10-1 after the top of the third, but the Cadets fought back with a five-run third to cut the lead to 10-6.

Clear Lake responded with three runs in the fourth and a nine-run fifth.

Brock Adams drove in five runs on four hits, Jacob Hogan homered and doubled and drove in three runs, while Cooper Merrill was a home run shy of the cycle.  Merrill finished with three RBIs.  Mitch Keeran also had three RBIs on a pair of hits.  Devin Uhlenhopp had three hits in five trips to the plate.  He drove in two runs and scored four himself.

“It was great to see our offense explode for 18 hits and 22 runs.  Any conference win on the road is tough to come by,” said Coach Thompson.

Lions pitchers struggled a but to find the strike zone, according to the coach, but for the second straight night Ben Mason came in and notched some key outs.  He picked up the win, coming in to relieve starter Cooper Merrill.   Merrill and Mason each only gave up one hit.  Merrill struck out one and walked two.  Mason also struck out one.

St. Ed’s 2, CL 0

Baseball can be cruel.

St. Ed’s came to town Wednesday, July 8, and did serious damage to Clear Lake’s hope for an NCC crown.  The Gaels scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning on their way to a 2-0 victory.

“This was a tough loss to swallow after needing a win to secure a share of our conference championship,” said Coach Thompson.  “They came out and played a great game and we pitched and defended well, but unfortunately just couldn’t muster up enough offense to get the job done.  We were a little overly-aggressive at the plate and as a result got ourselves out by popping up too much.  It is too easy on the opposing defense to just have to catch fly balls all game.”

The Lions had just two hits in the game.  Ben Mason and Devin Uhlenhopp each doubled, but were stranded on base.

Ethan McHenry was on the mound for the Lions.  He limited the Cadets to five hits and struck out two over seven innings.

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“Ethan did a nice job of giving us a chance to win, but sometimes baseball can be a cruel game and unfortunately for the Lions this was one of those nights,” said Coach Thompson.

Final NCC Standings

Humboldt 12-2

Clear Lake 11-3

Hampton-Dumont 9-5

St. Ed’s 8-6

Webster City 5-7

Algona 5-8

Iowa Falls-Alden 2-9

Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 2-11

Final Class 2A Standings

1. Cascade

2. Wilton

3. Waterloo Columbus

4. South Winneshiek

5. Clear Lake

6. Dyersville Beckman

7. New Hampton

8. Hinton

9. Northeast (Goose Lake)

10.Ogden

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