Clear Lake softball drops first two games

Algona and Webster City handed the Clear Lake girls softball team losses in the first week of the 2014 season. This week the Lions play four games Monday through Thursday and participate in a tournament at Charles City Saturday. They will be home Monday and Tuesday, June 9 and 10, for local fans to cheer them on against St. Ed’s and Humboldt.

Algona 17, CL 8

 The young Lions met up with an experienced and powerful Algona team in their season opener Tuesday, May 27. The Bulldogs won, 18-7.
 “The girls played well overall against Algona. We are such a young team and had quite a few injuries prior to the game. With everything considered, the four errors we made were based on inexperience,” said Coach Megan Young. “This year we are replacing six strong seniors. There is a lot of competition among the girls to earn their spots this season.”
 The Lions pounded out 12 hits in the game and exploded for seven of their eight runs in the fourth inning, tying the game at that point.
 Algona scored three runs in the fifth and seven runs in the seventh to seal the win.
 Five Clear Lake players had multiple hits. Tori Fyfe led the way with three hits and an RBI. Michaela Niles, Carney Frahm, Lindsay Kearns and Rachel Niemi each had a pair of hits. One of Frahm’s hits was a double.
Reagan Brackey pitched for the Lions. The Bulldogs scored their 17 runs on 18 hits. Brackey walked five.
Kirsten Baalson came in to pitch one inning. She gave up two hits and walked one.

Webster City 12, CL 4
The Lions held their own against Webster City through three innings, but couldn’t keep up with the Lynx in a 12-4 game.
The Lions found themselves down 5-0 after two innings, but fought back with four runs in the top of the third. Unfortunately that was all they could muster in a road loss.
“The youth of the girls is still coming out. For example, we got two outs quickly and struggled to get the third out,” said Coach Young. “We had a lot of great plays and attempts for put-outs. These girls are working very hard and improving daily. We had a lot of great hard hits.”
Carney Frahm supplied half of the Lions’ hits in the game. The union was an impressive four-for-four at the plate. Her line included a double and two RBIs. Tori Fyfe had two hits in her three trips to the plate. Erin O’Tool and Katie Hewett had singles.
Reagan Brackey suffered the loss on the mound. The sophomore gave up 10 hits and walked three.