Lions finish as runner-up in NCC with 12-2 record

(Above) Clear Lake’s Cooper Merrill has been an offensive leader all season for the Lions.  Against Hampton-Dumont, Merrill had three hits, including a home run.

The Clear Lake baseball team squeezed six games into their final week of the regular season.  Five of the six were North Central Conference wins, which gave the team a final record of 12-2 in the NCC, good for runner-up honors to Humboldt.  The final game was a hard-fought battle with New Hampton.  The second ranked Lions (2A) ended the regular season with a 25-7 record.  They were slated to begin post-season play Tuesday, July 12, at home.  With a win, the team would advance to play at home again on Saturday, July 16, at 7 p.m.

CL 5, H-D 2

CL 13, H-D 3

Ethan McHenry made the most of Senior Night on July 5, as he homered twice and ended up with seven RBIs in game two as the Lions capped a doubleheader sweep of Hampton-Dumont.  McHenry also knocked in a run with a triple in the opener, which the Lions won, 5-2.

The Lions scored all of their runs in the first three innings of the first game, while the Bulldogs scored single runs in the first and seventh innings.  The team recorded 11 hits, led by Cooper Merrill with three.  Merrill had a homer and finished with two RBIs.

Jacob Peterson picked up the win on the mound, giving up 10 hits in six and one-third innings of work.  Merrill came in to get the final two outs.

“This was a good way to start a very busy week.  Jacob pitched well and Cooper fueled our offense with three hits and his first home run of his career.  Our offense did a nice job of getting early runs for Jacob and our defense stepped up in the last inning to stop their rally and preserve the win,” said Coach Seth Thompson.

In the second game, the Lions used an eight-run fifth inning to run away with a 13-3 win.  Parker Truesdell got the win in relief of starter Brad Burns.  Each pitched two and two-thirds innings.  Burns gave up three runs on two hits, while striking out four and walking three.  Truesdell kept the Bulldogs hitless and struck out two and walked one.

“Parker did a really nice job of coming on in relief and shutting down their offense.  Although down early, our kids battled hard as they have done all year and finally broke through,” said Coach Thompson.  “Ethan McHenry had seven RBIs and  two home runs in the game and proved too much for their defense to handle.  Our kids have battled back from being behind all year, so it was not surprising to see them do it again tonight.”

Truesdell had a team-high three hits.  Merrill, Ben Mason and Ethan McHenry had two hits apiece.

CL 4, St. Ed’s 0

Ben Mason was efficient on the mound and was backed up by an error-free defense in Clear Lake’s 4-0 win at St. Ed’s Wednesday, July 6.  Mason went the distance and allowed just two hits.  He struck out six and walked two.

The Lions scored their runs on eight hits.  Cooper Merrill, Parker Truesdell and Jacob Peterson had two apiece and each picked up one RBI.  Mason accounted for the other RBI.

“Ben only faced 23 batters on the night, which is an impressive feat and one that hopefully will carry into the post-season for him on the mound,” said Coach Thompson. “Our offense was not clicking like it has been, but they found a way to get a few runs and on this night that is all they needed.”

CL 8, Webster City 2

CL 7, Webster City 1

The Lions got another complete game from its pitching staff in a pair of wins over Webster City Thursday, July 7.

In the first game, Ethan McHenry limited the Lynx to five hits in an 8-2 victory.  The Lions put four runs on the scoreboard in the first inning and added another in the second to take command.  Three more in the sixth put the game out of reach.  Parker Truesdell continued to swing a hot bat and had three hits in the win.  He scored two runs for the team.  Ethan McHenry was the RBI leader with three.  Zach Lester had two hits and two RBIs.

“Parker fueled our offense and has been hitting extremely well these last few weeks,” said Coach Thompson.  “Ethan showed good command of his pitches and our offense did a nice job of taking advantage of the openings that their defense gave us with a few walks and errors.”

In the second game, Jackson Hamlin got the win.  He gave up three hits in four innings on the mound.  Cooper Merrill finished out the game and allowed no hits.

The Lions scattered 13 hits in the contest.  They didn’t get on the board until the fourth inning, but then added four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth in the 7-1 win.

Parker Truesdell led the way with three hits.  Tanner Huey, Erik McHenry and Hamlin had two hits apiece.

“We have had a tough time getting wins at Webster City the last few years for some reason, so it was really nice to not just get one win, but two, on the night against a team that has been playing good baseball of late,” said Coach Thompson.  “Our defense made some really nice plays in this game, and I really liked our offensive approach during this game.  This finishes up our conference season at a pretty impressive 12-2 in a conference that was tough night in and night out and had some really good pitching.”

New Hampton 10, CL 9

Clear Lake and New Hampton have been developing a competitive baseball rivalry in recent years and Friday’s contest was a good one, as well.  Down 10-4, the Lions mounted a seventh inning rally, but fell 10-9.

“Erik (McHenry) battled hard, I thought, on the mound against what is probably the best offense in the state in 2A,” said Coach Thompson.  “Unfortunately on this night, with the wind blowing out, they just ended up with a couple key home runs that proved too much for us to overcome.”

One of Brad Burns’ two hits was a home run, helping him to a team-high four RBIs.  Parker Truesdell, Ben Mason and Erik McHenry had singles to round out Clear Lake’s offense.  The team was helped by 10 walks issued by Chickasaw pitchers.

Erik McHenry was the losing pitcher.  He gave up eight runs on eight hits, struck out three and walked one in three innings.  Brad Burns and Zach Lester also threw in the game.

“We love playing good teams, especially heading into district play, so this game against the number three team in our class, I think, will put us in a good spot to start the postseason,” added Thompson.