Lions move up to #2 in the Class 3A rankings

The Clear Lake Lions moved up to number two in the Class 3A rankings last week. The Lions, now 16-2, have the best fielding percentage and second best team ERA of all the teams in Class 3A. The Lions had a light week, due to inclement weather, but are scheduled to play 10 games in 10 days leading up to a break for the July 4 holiday.

 The Lions were slated to host Iowa Falls-Alden Monday and Saint Ansgar Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday they are at Eagle Grove and Lake Mills. They return home Friday, June 27, to play Bishop Garrigan then will wrap up the 

month at St. Ed’s in Fort Dodge. On July 1, Clear Lake will host Mason City. Tuesday Hampton-Dumont will be in town and July 3 the Lions will be at Clarion-Goldfield for a conference matchup.

CL 5, Webster City 0
 The Lions didn’t have their best game offensively, but Brandon Tofte was sharp on the mound and the defense was outstanding in a 5-0 shutout over Webster City Wednesday, June 18.
 “Solid defense is a big part of what has made this team successful this year,” said Coach Seth Thompson. “They just don’t give the other teams too many extra outs or bases and when you combine that with pitchers that mix speeds well and put the ball across the plate it makes the other team have to work very hard to score runs.”
 Tofte threw a five hitter in seven innings on the mound. He struck out three and walked none.
 The Lions scored four of their five runs in the fourth inning and added another in the sixth.
 Brock Adams had two of the Lions’ seven hits in the game. His double brought in a run. Mitch Keeran also had a double which scored a run.
 Parker Truesdell, Devin Uhlenhopp, Ben Mason and pinch hitter Jacob Hogan also reached base on hits. Truesdell, Hogan and Tofte picked up RBIs.

CL 2,
Humboldt 1
The Lions were challenged by a very good Humboldt team Friday night on the road. Clear Lake rallied for an important 2-1 North Central Conference win.
“This was a very good ball game with two very good teams on the field and both pitchers pitching extremely well. The difference, like so many times over the last few years with these kids, is that they simply were not going to allow the other team to walk off the field with a win,” said Coach Seth Thompson.
The Lions rallied to score two runs in the top of the seventh and then kept the Wildcats at bay in the bottom of the frame to get the win.
Junior Brock Adams started off the seventh with a hit which set the stage for Mitch Keeran and Pete Swenson to follow with tying and go-ahead doubles. Adams had a team-high two hits in the game and pitched what Thompson called “the best game of his career.” He allowed just three hits and struck out 15 in pitching the complete game. He walked only one.
“These kids have now pulled off the feat of winning after being behind heading into the last inning an astounding seven times in the last year and a half, and have never allowed the other team to manage to pull off the same feat in that time,” said Coach Thompson. “These kids are a ton of fun to watch play and compete every night, and we have appreciated all the fans that have come out to cheer them on this season.”