Lions push record to 11-3

(Above) Clear Lake’s Ethan McHenry started on the mound for the Lions against St. Ed’s on Wednesday, June 15.  The Lions came from behind to claim the 6-4 NCC victory.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Clear Lake boys pushed their record to 11-3 overall and 3-1 in North Central Conference in a week which pitted them against some quality 4A competition.  The loss to Pleasant Valley in five innings— the teams’ first five-inning loss in 195 games, caused the Lions to drop from first to second in the new rankings released Monday.

This week the Lions are on the road Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  They will host Van Meter and Bishop Heelan Sioux City on Saturday.  Monday and Tuesday they will face NCC foes Humboldt and Algona at home.

CL 6, St. Ed’s 4

The Lions started the week with a battle against Fort Dodge St. Ed’s on Wednesday, June 15.  After falling behind 4-1, the Lions steadily clawed their way back into the game and earned a 6-4 NCC victory.

“These kids have shown the ability to come from behind before and when they found themselves down 4-1 early in the game, you could see the determination on their faces that they were not going to lose this game,” said Coach Seth Thompson.

Ethan McHenry was the starter on the mound.  He threw two and one-third innings before Ben Mason came in to relieve.  McHenry was tagged for all of the Gaels’ runs— three of them earned.  He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out three.  Mason picked up the win, striking out six and allowing just one hit in four and two-thirds innings on the bump.

Cooper Merrill was valuable in the lead-off spot, fueling the offense with three hits, including two doubles.  He was credited with two RBIs and scored twice.  McHenry smacked two doubles to score one run.

Pleasant Valley 11, CL 0

The Lions ran into a buzz saw at the Battle of Council Bluffs on Friday, June 17.   Pleasant Valley put a hurt on the Lions, winning by the 10-run rule, 11-0.

“Games like this are bound to happen throughout a season, and what I think is so surprising is how rarely this has happened to the Lions over the years,” explained Thompson. “It has been 195 games since we have lost via the 10-run rule, and that is a pretty remarkable streak for a team that plays such a tough schedule year in and year out.  In that span they have won via the 10-run rule an amazing 53 times.  We just ran into a 4A team playing good ball right now and we had our worst game of the season in probably all facets of the game.”

The Lions had just three hits in the contest and all were singles.

Pleasant Valley scored 10 runs, seven of them earned, off starting pitcher Parker Truesdell.  He gave up five hits, walked three and struck out five in two and two-thirds innings.  Jackson Hamlin threw one and one-third innings, giving up two hits and a run with three walks and three strikeouts.

CL 10, Glenwood 6

The Lions showed an amazing amount of resilience, bouncing back from an 11-0 shutout to top Glenwood, 10-6, in their next game in the Battle of Council Bluffs on  Friday.

After each team scored a run in their half of the first, the Lions took control with four runs in the top of the second.  But adversity stuck again, as Glenwood scored twice in the third and three more times in the fourth to take the lead, 6-5.

The Lions answered the call, tying the game in the fifth and adding runs in the sixth and seventh for the 10-6 victory.

“What I thought was so great about this game is how they responded to the adversity that happened both the game before and during this game,” said Coach Thompson.  “They came out against a good team on their home field and just kept applying pressure to finally get a lead that they held through the last few innings.”

Cooper Merrill came in to relieve starter Jacob Peterson after three and one-third innings in which five runs were scored on six hits.  Peterson struck out two.

Merrill finished off Glenwood, allowing only four hits while striking out three and walking one.

“Cooper did a great job of coming in relief and our offense was consistent up and down the

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ineup,” said Thompson.

Tanner Huey and Peterson each led the offense with a pair of hits.  Zach Lester and Ben Mason each brought in two runs with hits.

CL 12, ADM Adel 7

Playing in their third game in less than 24 hours in 90-degree heat challenged the Lions both mentally and physically, but they prevailed against ADM Adel, 12-7, in the Battle of Council Bluffs.

The Lions pounded out 12 hits and scored 11 runs in the first four innings to

“It was great to see our bats stay hot and consistently putting pressure on their defense, and Ben did a great job coming in relief of Tanner to help his team get the win,” said Coach Thompson.

Tanner Huey got the start and went three and two-thirds innings before Ben Mason came in to finish it out.  Huey surrendered seven runs on seven hits, a walk and four strikeouts.  Mason kept ADM Adel in check with two strikeouts.  He gave up two hits.

Cooper Merrill, Zach Lester, Ethan McHenry, Parker Truesdell and Erik McHenry had two hits apiece.  Merrill, Lester and Truesdell each had doubles.  Truesdell’s hits gave him three RBIs, while Merrill and Lester each had two.

“It was great to see these kids battle through for a nice win against a bigger school and a team that swung the bats well,” added the coach.

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