Another solid week of play for the Lion baseball team

 The third ranked (3A) Lions are expected to move up in the rankings this week. The defending State champs are 5-0 in the North Central Conference and 14-2 overall following another solid week of play.

CL 8, St. Ed’s 1
 The clash of the North Central Conference heavyweights was won by the Lions, 8-1, Monday, June 9.
St. Ed’s managed to load the bases with a run already in and no one out to start the game, but after a little help from his defense, on a nice double play from first baseman Matt Stephany to catcher Rowdy Yates and back to Stephany, pitcher Brock Adams found his groove and shut the door on the Gaels’ offense for the rest of the game.
“This was a great way to start what will be a very busy week for us,” said Coach Seth Thompson. “Our offense did a nice job of applying constant pressure on them with 13 hits, and this was a really nice conference win as a team against one of the better teams in our conference.”
The Lions picked up two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead, but blew the game open with three more runs in the third and two in the fourth. They scored again in the sixth for the 8-1 final.
Five players in the Lions line-up had multiple hits. Mitch Keeran batted .1000 in his three trips to the plate. He had a double, stole a base and picked up an RBI. Brandon Tofte was three-for-four at the plate with a double and RBI. Ryan Schmalen and Ben Mason had two hits apiece, along with Adams, who picked up the win on the mound.
Adams struck out nine in the complete game. He gave up one run on four hits and walked two.

CL 6, West Fork 3
The Lions stepped outside of the conference to tangle with West Fork Tuesday night, June 10. The result was a 6-3 victory.
“I was disappointed with our approach at the plate tonight, but luckily we found a way to get Ben (Mason) enough runs to get the win. Ben really battled out of some jams against a good West Fork team,” said Coach Seth Thompson.
The coach also credited Mitch Keeran for getting the team out of an early 1-0 hole with a big homerun to lead off the second inning. The Lions added three in the fourth and two more runs in the fifth.
“Mitch was fantastic at the plate tonight. To say Mitch was swinging well tonight would be a pretty dramatic understatement. I’m just glad no coaches or infielders got hurt,” said Thompson.
Keeran’s three hits and two by Pete Swenson comprised the majority of the Lions’ offense. Rowdy Yates, Devin Uhlenhopp and Mason each had singles. Uhlenhopp’s hit scored two runs, while Yates’ brought in one.
CL 6, Hampton-Dumont 1
The Lions chalked up another NCC win by topping Hampton-Dumont 6-1 Wednesday, June 11. Brandon Tofte got the complete game win, giving up just five hits. He struck out six and walked four.
“Brandon showed me a lot on the mound tonight, finding a way to complete the game on the mound for a big conference win even though he didn’t have his best stuff,” said Coach Thompson. “We are relying on our pitchers to give us everything they can this week, as we come to the end of a stretch of 13 games in 13 days. Offensively I thought we had a better night than the scoreboard indicated – a lot of balls we hit well ended up being right at their outfielders.”
Mitch Keeran continued to swing a hot bat. He had a two-run double in the first and Matt Stephany had a triple and two runs batted in. Devin Uhlenhopp finished with a pair of hits and one RBI. Tofte helped himself with a hit which scored one run. Pete Swenson and Parker Truesdell also reached base on a hit.

CL 14, GHV 3
The Lions were too much for Garner-Hayfield/Ventura Thursday, June 12. Clear Lake posted a 14-3 victory in five innings.
“This was a great team win for us,” said Coach Seth Thompson. “We had some guys whose bodies needed some rest, and it was awesome to see some younger kids fill in those spots and the team still come out and perform at a high level. We ended up with 14 hits and defensively made some really nice plays to help Matt Stephany walk away with his first varsity win as a pitcher.”
Stephany struck out three in four and two-thirds innings on the mound. He allowed just two hits. Ryan Schmalen recorded a strikeout for the final out.
Brock Adams pounded out three hits for the Lions, including a double and RBI. Mitch Keeran, Ben Mason and Stephany each had doubles, with Keeran and Mason each scoring two with their blasts.
Devin Uhlenhopp, Parker Truesdell and Zach Tatum each had a pair of hits.
The Lions scored first in the bottom of the second, but GHV knotted the score at 1-1 with a run in the top of the third. Clear Lake broke the game open in the bottom  - Read More Via e-Edition