Lions roar on to Sub-State

(Above) Clear Lake’s Jacob Peterson gives the ball a ride in Tuesday night’s game against Eagle Grove.  The Lions won the game, 9-0.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The defending State Champion Clear Lake Lions started their post-season run toward a repeat in impressive fashion last week.  The Lions, who had a first round bye, shut out both Eagle Grove and Emmetsburg in District action.  They advanced to Sub-State Tuesday evening, July 19, against 21-12 Central Springs. The Panthers downed Hampton-Dumont, 5-2, to reach Sub-State. Details and photos from that game will appear in next week’s Mirror-Reporter.

CL 10, Emmetsburg 0 (6)

Ethan McHenry pitched a one-hitter to help the Lions top Emmetsburg, 10-0, in six innings in the Class 2A District 3 final played Saturday in Clear Lake.

“Ethan picked up pitching right where Ben (Mason) left off Tuesday, with a very efficient and dominating performance against a team that has been playing very well toward the end of the season,” said Coach Seth Thompson.

McHenry struck out seven and walked one on his way to improving his record to 6-0.

The Lion offense was able to put constant pressure on the E-Hawks (16-15), and although they managed to get out of few jams in earlier innings, during the sixth inning Clear Lake finally broke through to end the game via the 10-run rule.

Brad Burns continued on his recent tear at the plate, going 3/3 with an RBI.  Two of his hits were doubles and he scored twice for the team.  In two district games the senior has nine hits in 11 at bats. Another senior, Parker Truesdell, also had three hits and scored two runs.  Burns and Truesdell both had big hits in the sixth which scored runs and helped the Lions to the 10-run win.  Ethan McHenry and Tanner Huey also had hits in the frame to plate runs.

“This is our team’s fifth district title in six years, so you can’t say enough about the resolve these kids show in big pressure games like this,” said Coach Thompson.

CL 9, Eagle Grove 0

Ben Mason and Cooper Merrill combined on a no-hitter as Clear Lake downed Eagle Grove 9-0 in a Class 2A District 3 semifinal round Tuesday night, July 12.  Mason struck out 11 in six innings, with Merrill coming in to pitch the seventh.

“On the mound, Ben was about as sharp as you can be as a pitcher.  When you don’t walk a guy or give up a hit you usually give your team a good chance to win the game,” said Coach Seth Thompson.  “Our offense was a little tight for the first two innings, but the second time through the order kids did a great job of making adjustments and on the night ended up with 16 hits.  Obviously any win in postseason is huge, so this was a great win and a very well played game in all facets buy these kids.”

The Lions got on the board in the bottom of the third when Merrill sent a shot to right center field and raced to third with two outs.  Parker Truesdell followed with a double off the left centerfield wall to score Merrill.  Next, Mason sent a one-hopper past the third baseman for the first of his two hits in the game. Truesell scored to put the Lions ahead, 2-0.

Clear Lake added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth after a base hit by Zach Lester, double from Tanner Huey and a hit by Erik McHenry which scored two.  Three more runs scored after a passed ball, walk, and RBI double by Mason, making the score 7-0 after four.

The Lions kept piling on the runs in the fifth with Huey driving a ball down the left field line to score Lester, who had been hit by a pitch and reached second on an error.  Jacob Peterson and Brad Burns both had hits in the inning, which ended with a 9-0 score.

Lester finished the night with a team-high four hits and an RBI.  Mason and Erik McHenry each had two RBIs.