Clear Lake 7
Iowa Falls-Alden 5
The Clear Lake Lion softball team had another come-from-behind victory Tuesday, June 25 against a tough Iowa Falls-Alden Cadet team.
Looking a little confused in the field to start the game with a few early errors, the Cadets capitalized on the mistakes to score three runs.
The Lion bats were opportunistic in their first appearance as Jezzie Thompson drew a lead-off walk that was followed by a strike out for Cadet pitcher Cidni Phipps.
Taylor Schwenn made good contact to send the ball into centerfield which earned her an RBI and put the Lions on the board.
Trailing 3-1, the Lions looked to control the damage and with two runners stranded and no score posted in the next two innings for the Cadets the Lions were able to get it done.
Clear Lake would find two more runs in the third and fourth innings to lead the Cadets 5-3 after some exciting play.
The bottom of the third saw Makyla Johnson pop out, before flipping back to the top of the order. With one out, Thompson doubled on a hit to center but found herself in a pickle between third and second but a quick dive back to second saw her safe.
Schwenn was intentionally walked which put runners on third and first, after Thompson was advanced by an Alivia Paine grounder.
A wild pitch put the tying run across the plate before the inning ended.
The Lions held the Cadets again in the top of the fourth before putting the go-ahead run across the plate off a Thompson single put Johnson home. Cheyanne Schroeder sat on third and was sent home on an Alivia Paine sac fly.
Leading the Cadets 6-3 up until the top of the fifth, the Lions had the pressure put on them after the Cadets found two runs to close the gap by one run after Taylor Bedford had an RBI that saw Schwenn home.
In the bottom of the fifth, Clear Lake scored one run that gave a little insurance.
The Lions held the Cadets through the last remaining innings to improve to 11-8 on the year.
Clear Lake 14
H-D-CAL 2
The Clear Lake Lion girls continued to find ways to win, this time against the Hampton-Dumont-CAL Bulldogs on June 26.
The conference win pushed the Lions to a 12-8 record overall and 9-3 in the conference.
The Lions recorded 14 runs off 14 hits and had three home runs including two from Taylor Schwenn and one from Alivia Paine.
The home runs helped Schwenn and Paine record four RBI each as the team put up 11 total.
It took an inning for the Lions to get going, though, as the Bulldogs struck first with one run before the Lions answered with two runs in the first.
The second inning is where it broke loose and the Clear Lake girls put five runs on the board.
Hampton-Dumont-CAL added one run in the third, allowing the Lions three and Clear Lake put the game away in the fourth with four more runs to lead by 12 which put the 12-run rule into play.
Schwenn, Paine and Jezzie Thompson each recorded three runs in the win while Taylor Bedford and Cheyanne Schroeder each added two and Makyla Johnson added one.
Thompson was in the circle for the Lions, allowing two runs off two hits, walked five and struck out four.
West Fork 2
Clear Lake 1
The Lions hosted the West Fork Warhawks in an afternoon game on Thursday, June 27 in a makeup game from the beginning of the season.
Dating back to May 20, the first game of the season, the Warhawks and Lions were in limbo after lightning put a stop to the game in the fifth inning.
The Lions and Warhawks played out two innings but the Lions couldn’t overcome the Warhawks and fell by a 2-1 decision.
The Warhawks had two runs on four hits and committed two errors on the day.
Libby Trewin pitched the complete game, allowing one run off three hits, one walk and struck out 14 batters.
The Lions recorded one run off four hits with the teams lone run scored by Makyla Johnson.
Thompson pitched the complete game allowing two runs off four hits, walking five and striking out eight batters.
St. Edmond 9
Clear Lake 4
The Lion girls had a heart-breaker of a game against the #4 St. Edmond Gaels on Monday night, falling 9-4.
Things looked good for the Lions early, despite a quick one-run inning to start the game by the Gaels, the Lions answered back with a Taylor Bedford double that drove in Alivia Paine and Taylor Schwenn.
The Gaels evened the score with a run in the top of the second, but again, the Lion bats were connecting with Kaili Henning’s pitches and Jezzie Thompson drove in a pair of runs to elevate the Lions to a 4-2 lead.
A couple of Clear Lake errors in the third brought the Gaels back even at four.
The Lions couldn’t find home plate for the remainder of the game.
St. Edmond added two runs in the fourth and a three-run home run in the seventh put the game on ice and the Gaels stayed undefeated in the North Central Conference despite a valiant effort from the third place Lions.
