Lions move record to 9-6

by Marianne Gasaway

The Clear Lake Lions will be looking to win a rubber match against Humboldt when District play opens at 7 p.m. Friday night in Humboldt.  Clear Lake has lost two close contests against the Wildcats, including a 3-0 decision last week.  In their first meeting, a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh gave Humboldt a 4-3 victory.

Last week, the Lions went 1-2 with tough losses to Humboldt and Waverley-Shell Rock and a great come from behind win against Iowa Falls-Alden.

The Lions had a record of 9-6 in games played though  Friday, July 10.

“Our pitching continues to be a strength of our team and this week we hope to get our sticks going and score some runs to help our cause,” said Lions Coach AJ Feuerbach.  The Lions were prepping for the post-season against a solid Decorah team Tuesday night that Feuerbach said will help his team get us ready for its first round 3A tournament game Friday night at Humboldt.

Humboldt 3, CL 0

Humboldt scored three runs in the top of the second inning and kept the Lions at bay in a 3-0 win Monday, July 6.

After striking out the first batter, Aaron Formanek issued four straight walks before Erik McHenry took the mound in relief.  McHenry gave up back-to-back singles which scored two more runs.

Formanek gave up one hit and walked five in the loss.  McHenry pitched five and two-thirds innings, giving up five hits, striking out eight and walking three.

Cade Witzke earned the win.  The ace gave up six hits.  He struck out six and walked zero.

Formanek, McHenry, Andrew Crane, Connor O’Tool, Mitchell Raber and Caden Jones each had hits for the Lions.  Formanek was the only one to have a hit for extra bases.  He doubled in the second inning with two out and was left stranded on base.  The Lions left six runners on base in the game.

Jacob Thurm had two hits to lead the Wildcats.

CL, IF-A (8)

The Lions snatched the lead late in the game in a 7-5 victory over Iowa Falls-Alden on Thursday, July 9.   

The game was tied at five with Clear Lake batting in the top of the eighth when PJ Feuerbach singled on a 1-1 count, scoring two runs.  Mitchell Raber started the inning with a single and was joined on base by Caden Jones, who was hit by a pitch.  Feurerbach’s two-out single scored the runners.

The Lions were the first to score in the conference matchup.  Feuerbach reached base on a fielder’s choice, went to second on a error, stole third and stole home to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.

The Lions also scored a single run in the top of the fifth.  Brecken Arndt came in to run for Jett Neuberger, who was hit by a pitch.  Arndt scored on a single by Feuerbach to pull the Lions within one run.

The Cadets answered with three runs in the bottom of the third and another in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead.

The Cadets began to feel some pressure in the sixth when the bases were loaded with no outs.  Connor O’Tool reached base on a dropped third strike, followed by a walk to Andrew Crane.  Mitchell Raber was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for the Lions to rally.  A pitching change didn’t help, as Caden Jones was hit by a pitch, scoring a run for Clear Lake.  The score was knotted at 4-4 when Erik McHenry lifted a fly ball to the right fielder, scoring Crane.

The Lions did their best to end the game in seven, with Warnke leading off with a walk and eventually scoring on a two-out fly ball from O’Tool.  However, the Cadets tied things up in the bottom of the seventh.  A walk and two singles resulted in a 7-7 score and an extra inning.

Andrew Formanek earned the win for the Lions.  He allowed two hits and one run over three and a third innings, striking out three and walking one.  Jett Neuberger started the game for the Lions.  He surrendered four runs on seven hits over four and two-thirds innings, striking out five.

Dylan Madden took the loss for Iowa Falls-Alden. He allowed zero hits and one run over two innings, striking out three and walking one. McKade Eisentrager started the game for the Cadets.  He lasted five innings, allowing two hits and four runs while striking out four.

Feuerbach went two-for-four at the plate to lead the Lions in hits.

W-SR 10, CL 0 (5)

The Lions had a tough time generating runs on Friday, July 10, dropping their game with Waverly-Shell Rock 10-0.

Clear Lake batters had a tough time against pitcher Payton Leonard, who allowed just three hits over five innings, striking out six.

The first of those hits came in the first inning, when Austin

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Warnke reached on a ground ball to third.  However, he was left stranded on base.  A pair of walks issued to start the third inning also gave the Lions hope, but Leonard struck out a batter and got PJ Feuerbach to hit into a double play to end the threat.

W-SR picked up the first of their 10 runs on the bottom of the third when a runner reached on a dropped third strike with two outs.  A line drive single to center field scored a run.  The flood gates opened in the bottom of the fourth, when the Go-Hawks scored nine runs on six hits, three errors and two walks.    Pitcher Conor O’Tool gave up five of the hits and a walk before being relieved by Brecken Arndt.

O’Tool was tagged with the loss for the Lions.  He surrendered nine runs on seven hits over three and a third innings, striking out three.

Warnke singled in the top of the fifth for his second hit in the contest.

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