Clear Lake Lions still among the baseball leaders

(Above) Clear Lake’s Jacob Peterson slides back into first base after an attempt to steal second.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Clear Lake Lions picked up four wins last week, helping the team to a 5-3 record and keeping them among the leaders in Class 2A.  The Lions were the preseason number one pick, but dropped to number six this week after two losses in their opening week.

CL 9, North Union 1

The Lions produced up and down the lineup and handled North Union easily, 9-1, on Tuesday, May 30.

Jackson Hamlin went four-for-four at the plate, including a double, and Tanner Huey had three hits to lead the team.  Hamlin brought in four runs with his bat.  Zach Lester, Ben Finn and Chase Stuver had two hits apiece.

Evan Krause earned the win in his first outing on the mound.

“With the new pitch count rules the state has, it is going to be more important than ever to have pitchers that can pitch deep into games and to pitch a complete game with 12 strikeouts and no walks is about as good as it gets,” said Coach Seth Thompson.

Krause gave up eight hits over seven innings.

“Our offense was very consistent all game and it was especially nice to see a lot of production coming from the bottom of our order,” added Thompson.

CL 17, IF-A 7

The Lions put four runs on the board in the top of the first and never looked back at Iowa Falls-Alden May 31. They went on to win, 17-7.

Seven Lions had hits, led by Jacob Peterson with three, good for two RBIs.  Peterson scored three runs himself.  Zach Lester smacked two hits, both doubles, and brought in four runs.  Erik McHenry, Nathan Tofte and Chase Stutter had two hits apiece. Tofte’s hits yielded three RBIs.

Coach Thompson said the early runs on the road helped the Lion pitchers and defense

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play relaxed and with more confidence.

“Any win you can get in conference play is a big one, and our offense was constantly putting pressure on them with 13 hits and base runners every inning.  Our defense is starting to figure things out, as well,” said Thompson.

Clear Lake added five runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and sealed the deal with six in the sixth.

Peterson earned the win on the mound. He gave up seven runs on five hits. He walked five and struck out three.  Sophomore Mac Adams came in for the final two outs. He surrendered two hits.

Roland-Story 3, CL 2

CL 7, Roland-Story 4

After two games with double digit hits, the Lions couldn’t get anything going in the first of two games against Roland-Story Thursday, June 1.  They fell, 3-2.

The Lions scored their only runs in the first inning.  Zach Lester, Jacob Peterson and Ben Finn had Clear Lake’s only hits. Peterson had an RBI.

Nathan Tofte took the loss. He threw six innings and gave up three runs, all earned, on 11 hits.

“We just couldn’t get any offense going to help Nathan Tofte, who pitched a good game against a good offensive team,” said Coach Thompson.

In the second game of the twin bill the Lions had better at-bats.  In the final inning they had their best bats, plating four runs for a come from behind win, 7-4.

“We have been fortunate over the last several years to have a lot of come from behind wins and it was great to see this team prove they can do it as well,” said Coach Thompson.

Jackson Hamlin started the big inning with a double, and Tanner Huey and Nathan Tofte added extra base hits to give the team a three run lead.

Freshman Erik McHenry pitched a great game, but since ninth graders can only throw 90 pitches he had to come out after five innings. He struck out five and walked one and was touched for five hits. Ben Finn came in for the final two innings and got the win. He gave up one hit, struck out three and walked two.

CL 7, Humboldt 2

Clear Lake picked up another conference win Friday, June 2, when they hosted Humboldt.  The won, 7-2.

“Humboldt has been the team to beat in our conference the last two years, so this was a big win to get if we want to compete for a conference title,” said Coach Thompson.  “We did a nice job again of getting runs on the board early, and our offense was just a little too much for them to handle throughout the game with nine hits and five for extra bases.”

The top of the lineup was productive, with number one, two and three hitters Erik McHenry, Tanner Huey and Zach Lester each getting two hits.  McHenry picked up one RBI, while Huey and Lester each had two.

Jackson Hamlin got the win on the mound.  He gave up six hits in six innings pitched, struck out five and walked one.  Lester came in to pitch the final inning.  He struck out two.

“I thought Jackson did a great job on the mound, allowing two runs and none of them earned, and Zach came in when Jackson ran into a pitch count limit and did a great job of closing the game for his team,” said Thompson.

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