A win and a loss for CL softball

The Clear Lake softball season got underway under new Head Coach Austin Peterson last week.  The Lions jumped right into the fire, facing Class 4A powerhouse Waverly-Shell Rock and North Central Conference foe Fort Dodge St. Edmond.

The Lions are currently 1-1 and 1-0 in conference.  They travel to Iowa Falls, Wednesday, June 1, for another conference battle.

W-SR 10, CL 0

Waverly-Shell Rock’s Kelsey Aikey struck out 15 through five innings, helping 13th ranked Waverly-Shell Rock beat Clear Lake 10-0 in six innings in the Lions’ opener Tuesday, May 24,  Aikey also homered and had three triples to help her cause.

The Lions struggled at the plate  and in the field.  The team committed five errors throughout the game.

Kiersten Baalson took the loss for the Lions, giving up five earned runs through six innings.  She walked one and struck out one.

The Lions were hitless and only had one runner reach base on a walk.

“I knew this would be a tough test for us right off the bat,” said Coach Peterson.  “Aikey is a great pitcher, so I knew hits would be hard to come by.  I feel this is a great team to start the season off  because they allow us to gage where the girls and this team is at.  I thought Baalson pitched well against a great hitting team like that.  If we make some plays behind her the score is a lot different.”

The coach said the outing allowed him to see what areas the team needs to improve in and focus on those areas heading into practices.

“I feel the bats will come.  We are a young team with many girls playing in new positions.  There will be some growing pains, but after this game I am encouraged with what I saw,” he said.

CL 11, St. Ed’s 4

The Lions bounced back strong after the loss to Waverly, by scoring 11 runs and defeating St. Ed’s, 11 – 4.

No runs were scored in the first inning for either team, but with two outs in the top of the second, Rachel Barillas got things started for the Lions with a double.  Kiersten Baalson followed with a walk and Macy Mixdorf drove them both home with a two RBI single.

St. Ed’s answered in the bottom of the second by scoring a run  off a Jocy Timmerman single.  At the end of the second inning the Lions were leading 2 -1, and that would be the closest the game would be.

The Lions scored one run in the third off an RBI single by Chloe Mueller.  Then the flood gates opened with three runs in the fourth, four runs in the sixth, and one run in the seventh for the Lions.

Six Clear Lake players had two hits apiece.  Rachel Barillas’ hits included a double.  She finished the game with three RBIs.  Macy Mixdorf and Michaela Niles each had two RBIs on their two hits.  Julia Merfeld, Tori Fyfe and Chloe Mueller each had one RBI on their hits.  One of Fyfe’s hits was a double.

Baalson picked up the win for the Lions, pitching all seven innings.  She gave up two earned runs, walked two and had six strikeouts.

“It is great to see how the girls responded with the bat.  Kiersten Baalson threw great.  She did what I asked, and that is to throw strikes and let your defense play.  I felt we played great behind her.  I felt a lot of girls stepped up tonight and made plays.”

The Lions helped themselves with only two errors.

The Lions hope to take the momentum from the win and build on it as they face a tough Iowa Falls team Wednesday on the road.