The Clear Lake Lions baseball team (12-9) ranks second in the conference and had five games last week, going 2-3 in the stretch. The first two games were against Iowa Falls-Alden and Forest City, where they went 1-1.
CL 11, IF-A 0
The Clear Lake Lions (11-6), hit the road to take on the Iowa Falls-Alden Cadets (3-11), winning the ball game by a score of 11-0 on Monday, June 19.
The Lions were methodical in their scoring, steadily building their lead inning after inning. They nearly managed a no hitter against the Cadets to go with the shutout.
Clear Lake totaled eight hits for seven singles and a double, eight RBIs, and nine stolen bases.
Titan Schmitt went one-for-two with a double and two walks. Ben Loge went two-for-four with two doubles. Hudson Smith went two-for-three with two singles, an RBI, and a walk. Luke Fuhrman went one-for-two with a single and two walks.
Dylan Bieber and Tate Garman both went one-for-four, each with a run and a base hit. Garman added three RBIs to the cause. Alex Kerr had three runs as a pinch runner.
The Clear Lake defense played error free with Andrew Theiss getting the win. Theiss faced nine batters allowing no hits or runs, while taking six strikeouts. Hudson Carney faced seven batters only allowing one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts.
Forest City 15, CL 6
On Tuesday, June 20, the Lions (11-7) faced the Forest City Indian (13-7), and after struggling to get hits, fell, 15-6.
The Lions fell behind early, going down one run in the first inning and another in the second. In the third inning, the Indians scored four more runs. The Lions scored four in the fifth inning to make the score 12-6, but couldn’t manage the comeback.
Clear Lake only had four hits in the game to the Cadets’ nine. Both teams took 10 bases by either walks or hit batters. Errors also plagued the Lions, who racked up seven in the game to the Cadets’ two.
Ezekiel Nelson went two-for-four both for singles, he had one RBI, and was hit by a pitch. Ben Loge went two-for-three with an RBI and a walk. Hudson Smith, Tate Garman, Andrew Theiss, and Alex Kerr also scored a run each via walks.
Garman took the loss from the mound against the Indians. He faced 17 batters, allowed three hits, five earned runs, walked four, and had three strikeouts. Luke Fuhrman faced 16 batters, allowed three hits, one earned run, one walk, and two strikeouts. Wesley Wharton faced 11 batters, allowing two hits, two earned runs, one walk, and he hit two batters.
Humboldt 8, CL 2
The Lions (11-8) played top-of the conference Humboldt (18-3) on Wednesday, June 21. Clear Lake fell, 8-2 to the powerhouse team. Clear Lake struggled again to get hits, only taking three on the day. The Lions were first on the board, scoring a run in the first inning, while Humboldt did the bulk of their scoring in the third, where they tallied four runs.
The Wildcats had 10 hits, including a home run, along with five RBIs. Both teams totaled three trips to first base by either a walk or hit batter.
Dylan Bieber went one-for-three with a double and one RBI. Tate Garman went one-for-three with a single. Andrew Theiss went one-for-three with a double.
Defensively, the Lions allowed two errors with Andrew Theiss getting the loss. Theiss faced 28 batters, allowed six hits, four earned runs, two walks, and 13 strikeouts. Hudson Carney faced five batters, allowed three hits, one earned run, and two strikeouts. Titan Schmitt faced one batter and threw seven pitches.
Decorah 5, CL 1
The Lions (11-9) played the Decorah Vikings (15-10) on Thursday, June 22, losing the game 5-1.
Clear Lake had four total hits in the game to the Vikings’ nine. Both teams recorded five walks. There were three errors between the teams. The Lions had four stolen bases to the Vikings’ three.
Andrew Theiss went two-for-four with two singles. Dylan Bieber went one-for-three with a single and a walk. Hudson Smith went one-for-two with a single and a walk. Ezekiel Nelson scored the team’s lone run as a pinch runner.
Joshua Monson got the loss from the mound. Monson faced 29 batters and allowed seven hits, three earned runs, five walks, and two strikeouts. Wesley Wharton made an appearance and faced two batters and threw seven pitches.
Lions end skid with a 12-6 win
by Scott Watson
The Lions got back on track and finished their week with a win against Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on Friday, June 23. Clear Lake downed C-G-D, 12-6.
The Lions drew first blood, taking a 2-0 first inning lead that doubled in the second inning. The Cowboys began fighting back in the third and fourth inning, drawing the game to a 7-5 score going into the fifth. The Lions stood tough, keeping the Cowboys scoreless in inning five and adding five runs to their lead to put the game away.
Both teams had eight hits in the game. All eight of Clear Lake’s went for singles, six of C-G-D’s hits went for singles and two for doubles. The Lions had nine RBIs in the feat, were walked nine times and hit by two pitches.
Ezekiel Nelson led the way with a monstrous four-for-five outing at the plate. He hit four singles and had two RBIs. Ben Loge and Luke Fuhrman both went one-for-three with singles and two RBIs. Hudson Smith went one-for-four with a single and two RBIs. Hudson Carney went one-for-two with a single and an RBI.
The Lions had nine stolen bases with Nelson leading the team with four.
Defensively, Clear Lake only had one error with Hudson Carney getting the win. He faced 21 batters, allowed four hits, four earned runs, three walks, three hit batters and struck out six. Luke Fuhrman faced 14 batters, allowed three hits, one earned run, a walk, and six strikeouts.
