Girls split four games

The Clear Lake softball team continued to make forward strides last week, picking up two wins in four outings.  The Lions are now 7-13 overall,  1-8 in the North Central Conference.

CL 5, Garner 2
    The Lions opened the week by hosting Garner on Tuesday, June 21.  The team played error-free ball and looked sharp in a 5-2 win.
    “This win was another positive step forward defensively for us,” said Coach Nicki Petersburg.  “We had no errors and made Garner strand nine runners on base.”

    Rea Faber had a good night at the plate with two hits, including a triple.  She also had a stolen base and scored two runs.  Hannah Bartlett and Taylor Diehl were also

offensive sparks.  Bartlett was two-for-four at the plate.  She finished with a stolen base and two RBI.  Diehl picked up a pair of RBI with a double. Rachel Kopriva also had two hits in the game, an RBI and scored a run. 
    Jenna Peterson, Ryan Pierce, Emma Schiller and Annie Snyder all had one hit apiece. 
    Diehl was the winning pitcher with six strikeouts.  The Cardinals had eight hits off Diehl and reached base twice on walks.

Mason City 9, CL 3
    Diehl pitched another good game the following night when the Lions hosted a very good Mason City team.  The senior pitcher held the 4A Mohawks to only three runs, none of which were earned, for five innings.
    “Our defense played a big role in holding them that long, too, as Mason City had runners in scoring position every inning with less than two outs, not able to score in bunches until the sixth,” said Coach Petersburg.  
    The Lions then battled back in the sixth to make it a 6-3 game going into the seventh, but couldn’t pull together a rally in the bottom of the seventh.
    “Overall, it was a good game for us, proving we can hang-in with any team,” added the coach.
    The Lions had five hits in the game, led by Rea Faber’s two.  Hannah Bartlett, Rachel Kopriva and Emma Schiller each had singles.
    The Mohawks pounded out 14 hits.  Just two of their nine runs were earned.  Diehl walked two and struck out four in seven innings pitched.

CL 10, Forest City 4
    The Lions successfully put their offense and defense together in a non-conference game against Forest City Thursday, June 23.  The result was a 10-4 victory.
    “Forest City had three more hits than we did, but we scored six more runs.  We got our runners on and executed at the plate to bring them in,” said Coach Petersburg.  “The key difference in this game was that we battled each time Forest City scored runs by adding more of our own.  It’s always nice to beat Forest City, a team that - Read More Via e-Edition