Lions slip to number two in rankings

(Above) Clear Lake’s Brad Burns makes a play at first base during the Iowa Falls-Alden.  The Cadets made the Lions work for the 4-2 victory.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

The Clear Lake boys slipped to number two in the Class 2A rankings this week. The Lions improved their record to 17-4 with six wins and one loss in a week destined to get them ready for post-season play starting on July 12.

Clear Lake was scheduled to play three conference games Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, with huge implications for the North Central Conference title.  The Lions started the week with a 5-1 NCC record; their only loss was to Humboldt, who was Monday’s opponent.  They take on Algona in games Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Saturday, Clear Lake will host Mason City in a game rescheduled from earlier this season.  Junior varsity will be played at 5 p.m. and varsity is at 7 p.m.

CL 4, IF-A 2

The Lions started the week with a seemingly routine NCC game against Iowa Falls-Alden.  However, the Cadets had other ideas and rallied in the seventh to make Clear Lake work for the win, 4-2.

“We did a nice job of getting some early runs on the board against a really good pitcher from Iowa Falls, and although we made it more interesting than we should have in the last inning, our defense and pitching did a good job of getting out of a tough spot and getting a big conference win,” said Coach Seth Thompson.

Cooper Merrill blasted a triple to set a nice tone for the game.  He finished with one RBI and also got the save in relief of starter Ethan McHenry.  McHenry for the win, giving up two hits, four walks and four strikeouts.   Merrill walked two and struck out two in the seventh to secure the win.

The Lions, who score all their runs in the first three innings, got the victory with just four hits.  In addition to Merrill, Ben Mason, Ethan McHenry and Erik McHenry reached base on hits.

CL 6, St. Ansgar 5

The Lions were able to hold off a hot St. Ansgar team Tuesday night, June 21.  Clear Lake used two runs in the bottom of the seventh to get a 6-5 victory.

“This was a really good win for us against a good St. Ansgar team that has been playing very well,” said Coach Thompson.

The Lions had six hits in the game, but none bigger than Erik McHenry’s from the ninth spot in the order in the bottom of the seventh.  McHenry ripped a line drive to center field with two strikes to get the winning run on base after Jacob Peterson had walked.  Cooper Merrill hit one hard at the shortstop after that to bring in the runs in walk-off fashion for an exciting victory after being behind the whole game until the last at-bat.

Coach Thompson added he was pleased with Peterson’s pitching in relief of starter Brad Burns.

“I thought Jacob did a great job coming in to pitch and keeping his team in the game and he had a big hit and walk his last two at bats that were huge for his team.”

Cooper Merrill had two of his teams’ six hits and picked up three RBIs.  Ethan McHenry, Parker Truesdell, Erik McHenry and Peterson accounted for the others.

Ben Mason got the win on the mound. He threw two-thirds of an inning, giving up one hit, a walk and getting a strikeout.

CL 14, C-G-D 2 (5)

The Lions stayed in the hunt for a conference title with a dominating 14-2 win over Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on Wednesday, June 22.

“Any win on the road is big in conference, and this was a big win to keep us in the hunt for a conference title,” said Coach Seth Thompson.  “Our offense was constantly putting pressure on them and Jackson (Hamlin), after a rough first inning, did a nice job of keeping their offense off the bases.  It was nice to see us not just getting hits but getting extra base hits and even a lot of our outs were hard hit balls.”

In five innings of work Hamlin gave up two runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out eight.

Ben Mason and Ethan McHenry had three hits apiece in the win.  Two of Mason’s blasts were doubles.  Tanner Huey, Erik McHenry and Brad Burns each had two hits.  Mason was the leader in RBIs with four. Zach Lester earned three with one hit.

CL 11, Lake Mills 2

In a game much closer than the score indicates, the Lions topped Lake Mills 11-2 on Thursday, June 23.

The Bulldogs actually held a 3-2 lead through four innings, but the Lions cut loose in the fifth with two runs.  They added two more in the sixth and sealed the deal in the seventh with five runs.

Lake Mills turned a rare triple play on the Lions in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and no outs to keep the game close,