Lions now rated #1 in Class 3A

The Clear Lake baseball team moved up to number one in the Class 3A rankings this week. The Lions posted five more wins during the week and demonstrated what Coach Seth Thompson called “the most impressive offense I have seen all season” in an 11-1 rout of Bishop Garrigan.

The Lions are now 22-2 overall and 10-0 in the North Central Conference. Next week they will face NCC challenger Algona (16-5) at home July 7 and on the road July 8. The Bulldogs are currently 10-1 in the NCC, with their only loss

coming at the hands of St. Ed’s. Before those important games Clear Lake is slated to host Mason City July 1 and Hampton-Dumont July 2. They will be at Clarion-Goldfield July 3 before the holiday break.

CL 5, IF-A 2
 The week started with a routine win over Iowa Falls-Alden on Monday, June 23. Coach Thompson noted starter Brandon Tofte was not as sharp as they have become accustomed to, but he did what was needed to get his team the win. Pete Swenson pitched the final two innings to preserve the win.
 “Pete came in and was dominant to get the save and our offense, although unspectacular, found a way to muster five runs out of seven hits and get a big conference win to keep our conference record free of any losses,” said Thompson.
 Tofte gave up four hits, struck out four and walked two, while Swenson allowed just one hit and struck out four. Both runs scored against Tofte were earned.
 Tofte and Brock Adams each provided two of the Lions’ seven hits. Both players had extra-base hits which scored runs. Tofte had both a double and triple, scoring two, while Adams stroked a double for an RBI. Mitch Keeran, Ben Mason and Jacob Hogan all had singles. Mason was credited with an RBI. Swenson also had an RBI in the game.
CL 6, St. Ansgar 1
CL 5, St. Ansgar 1
 The Lions picked up a pair of wins in a twin bill played against St. Ansgar Tuesday.
In the first game Clear Lake scored five in the fourth inning on their way to a 6-1 victory. Sophomore Zach Tatum got the win, striking out six and walking two. He gave up five hits in seven innings pitched.
The Lions pounded out 10 hits in the game, with Brock Adams, Pete Swenson, Jacob Hogan, Devin Uhlenhopp and Tatum all getting two apiece. Uhlenhopp had a pair of doubles which scored two runs, while Swenson, Hogan and Tatum each had one. Tatum also finished with two RBIs and Adams had one.
Another big inning helped the Lions in the second game. The teams were tied at 1-1 after one inning, but Clear Lake sent four runs across the plate in the sixth and held the Saints scoreless for a 5-1 final score.
Six hits, all singles were enough for the win. Zach Tatum accounted for half of the hits. Brock Adams, Pete Swenson and Jacob Hogan also reached base on hits. Devin Uhlenhopp, Ryan Schmalen, Tucker Tusha and Adams earned RBIs.
Jacob Peterson pitched the win. He gave up just four hits in seven innings and struck out three. He walked one.
“I thought the story for both of these games was the performances of both Zach and Jacob on the mound,” said Coach Thompson. “It is a huge boost to the team any time a starting pitcher can complete a game, and for both of these kids to accomplish this against a St. Ansgar team that has been playing well is big, especially in a week where we play six games in five days. Jacob was seeing his first varsity appearance of his career, and it is really fun as a coach to see kids in those spots show no fear or intimidation and be amazing. In baseball good pitching and good defense will win you a lot of ball games, and we saw that tonight for 14 innings of baseball.”

CL 10, Eagle Grove 7
The Lions found a way to win against Eagle Grove Wednesday, June 25. They came away with a 10-7 victory to stay undefeated in the North Central Conference.
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