Lions improve to 2-0 in NCC

(Above)Clear Lake’s Eric McHenry makes a play at second base.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Clear Lake Lions improved to 2-0 in the North Central Conference and 4-3 overall last week.

The Lions are home tonight (Wednesday, June 6) to host St. Ed’s in another NCC matchup.  They are on the road Thursday against Garner-Hayfield-Ventura and Friday at Hampton-Dumont.  Monday the team will be in Algona.  Their next home game is Wednesday, June 13, against Clarion-Goldfield-Dows.

CL 11- IF-A 1

Iowa Falls jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead, but the Lions effectively shut down their NCC opponent with a steady barrage of runs for an 11-1 victory Wednesday, May 30.

“Conference wins are always tough to get because you see the teams’ best pitchers, and I thought we did a nice job tonight against a good pitcher from Iowa Falls to make him work hard to get us out,” said Lions Head Coach Seth Thompson.  “With the new pitch count rules it is even more vital to make pitchers work hard because they are only allowed to throw so many pitches.  When he had to leave the game we were able to capitalize on the other pitchers that came in and their struggling to find the strike zone.”

Clear Lake’s Jackson Hamlin picked up the win.  The senior threw six innings, striking out five and walking one.  The Cadets scored their run on two hits.

“I thought Jackson got better as the game went on after allowing their first batter to reach base and score.  He didn’t walk another guy after that,” said Thompson.

The Lions scored their runs on six hits.  Ben Finn led the way with two hits and three stolen bases.  Hamlin and Andrew Formanek each had doubles good for RBIs.  Erik McHenry and Zach Lester each finished with three RBIs.

Roland-Story 5, CL 3

CL 3, Roland-Story 1

The Lions stepped out of the conference May 31 to take on an undefeated Roland-Story team in a doubleheader.  The teams split the games.

In the first, a three-run homer in the third inning lifted R-S to a 5-3 victory.  Erik McHenry pitched well, but took the loss.  The sophomore gave up five hits and struck out seven in seven innings of work.  He walked two.

“Erik pitched great against some high-caliber hitters and managed to pitch the whole game, which was a big lift to our pitching staff,” said Coach Thompson.  “We struggled early to get runners on base, but made a nice rally late the game that unfortunately came up a little short.”

The Lions were down 5-0 through four and one-half innings, but pulled themselves back into the contest with a three-run fifth inning.  The team was held to four hits on the night, scattered between Zach Lester, Ben Finn, Austin Warnke and Mitchell Raber.  McHenry, Raber and Andrew Formanek had RBIs.

In game two the Lions used another late rally, this time successfully, to get a 3-1 victory.  Ben Finn started on the mound for the Lions and pitched four and one-third innings, giving up one run on one hit.  He struck out one and walked five.  Mac Adams came in and picked up the win by holding R-S to three hits.  He struck out two and walked two.

“Ben was terrific on the mound and Mac did a great job coming in to finish things off and got some high-pressure outs late in the game,” said Coach Thompson.

Erik McHenry had two hits in the game, including a key single in the sixth for important RBIs.  Zach Lester also put the ball in play in the sixth for a crucial RBI.

Mitchell Raber had a team-high three hits for the Lions.

CL 2, Humboldt 1

The Lions were on the road Friday, June 1, trying to pick up a win at always-tough Humboldt.  “This was a very hard-fought and well-played game by both sides and fortunately we scraped across enough runs to get a big conference win,” said Coach Seth Thompson.  “Nathan Tofte was outstanding on the mound and I thought our defense took a huge step in a positive direction with only one error on the night.”

The Lions took a 1-0 lead in the third inning and added an insurance run in the top of the sixth.  Their defense was tested in the bottom of the frame, as one run crossed the plate for the Wildcats.  However, Clear Lake shut down the threat and earned a 2-1 win.

Tofte gave up seven hits in six and two-thirds innings on the mound.  He struck out five.

“Zach came in to get a very tense last out for us and our pitchers on the night didn’t walk a single batter,” noted the coach.

The Lions had just three hits in the game.  Mitchell Raber, Chase Stuver and Tofte provide the bats.  Tofte drove in the Lions’ first run with a line drive to right field and Brecken Arndt made an aggressive base running play later in the game that ended up resulting in the winning run for the Lions, according to Thompson.

“Anytime you have only one error and no walks you give yourself a good chance to win the game,” added the coach.