The end of the season banquet will be held on Saturday, August 8th at 6:00 p.m.  The location will be at Coach Thompson’s house, which is located a mile north of the baseball field at 2111 N 8th Street.  Players and parents of the Freshman, JV, and Varsity teams are all invited to attend.  Families of players are asked to bring food to the banquet as follows:

Last names starting with letters A-D:  Beverage (2 2-liters of pop each)

Last names starting with letters E-K:  Side Dish

Last names starting with letters L-R:  Large Bag of Chips

Last names starting with letters S-Z:  Desert

Each person that comes will need to bring their own lawnchair to sit in.  We hope to see as many players and families there as possible.

The Lions were defeated 9-2 by Hampton-Dumont in the District Final Monday night (7/20) to end their season.  The two seniors each playing their last game as Clear Lake athletes both led the Lions offensively, with Josh Carlson hitting a 2-run homerun and Patrick Kolker hitting a double to the centerfield fence.  The Lions finished their season at 14-18 and 9-9 in North Central Conference play.  After starting the season 4-11 they finished the season 10-7 to earn 6th place in the conference and advance to the district finals.

The Lions beat Webster City 4-2 to advance past the first round of tournament play on 7/17.  They avenged 2 earlier conference losses in the season to the Lynx to improve their season record to 14-17.  Picking up the win on the mound for the Lions was Aaron Howlett, who struck out 7 in the game and retired 16 of the last 17 Webster City batters.  Leading the offensive was Zach Bendickson, who was 3 for 4 on the night with a double and an RBI.   

The 2009 Lion Spring Baseball Clinic came to an end on Monday, May 4^th with a game under the lights at Lions Field.  It was great to see all the players grades 3-7 that came out to be part of the clinic this year.  After having almost 50 in the first year of the clinic in 2008 this year there were 57 kids that participated in 2009.  The clinic was held after school on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday on April 28 – May 1^st with a game and awards night to end the clinic on Monday night, May 4^th.  We would like to thank the many parents, coaches, and high school players that volunteered their time to make the clinic an enjoyable experience for the kids participating.  The following awards were given out on Monday from the games and contests that took place throughout the week: 

Team Champions (grades 3-5):  White Sox

Team Champions (grades 6-7):  Cardinals

Golden Glove Award (best infielder grades 3-5):           Carson Parker

Golden Glove Award (best outfielder grades 3-5):         Tanner Berger

Pitcher of the Year (grades 3-5):                                   Reese Barracks

Baserunner of the year (grades 3-5):                             Carson Parker

Hitter of the Year (grades 3-5):                                     Parker Truesdell

All-Around Champion (grades 3-5):                              Carson Parker         

Golden Glove Award (best infielder grades 6-7):           Matt Stephany

Golden Glove Award (best outfielder grades 6-7):         Jack Finn

Pitcher of the Year (grades 6-7):                                   Tucker Tusha

Baserunner of the year (grades 6-7):                             Devin Uhlenhopp

Hitter of the Year (grades 6-7):                                     Dane Waldron

All-Around Champion (grades 6-7):                              Rowdy Yates      

Lion Award Winner 2009:                                            Levi Pinheiro 

Pitchers and Catchers for the Lions 2009 squad have started their early-morning throwing schedule.  For all involved below is the throwing schedule we will follow through March and April:

Group A:  Logan Williams, Elliott Neuberger, Aaron Howlett, Ozzie Adams

Group B:  Jake Adams, Zach Bendickson, Colin Lobdell, Ryan Iverson

Group C:  Luke Monson, Jake Kockler, Tanner Truesdell, Nicholas DiMarco

March 23, 27, 31  April 6, 9, 14, 20, 24, 28   = Group A/B Throwing

March 24, 30  April 3, 7, 13, 17, 21, 27  May 1  = Group B/C Throwing

March 25  April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29  = Group C/A Throwing

Every Thursday from March 26 – April 30 All Pitchers and Catchers will be throwing

All throwing sessions will begin at 7:00 a.m. in the Middle School Gym

Our team finished the 2008 season with a record of 17-15 which included a 11-7 record in conference play. After starting the season 1-7 these kids worked hard to accomplish a winning season and have a lot to be proud of. Individually we had 5 players earn All Conference in the North Central Conference. They were Justin Uhlenhopp (1st team outfielder), Jake Kolker (1st team infielder), Bryce Lobdell (2nd team outfielder), Elliott Neuberger (2nd Team Pitcher), and Andy Kockler (3rd team). We also had 2 players earn 1st Team All-District in Justin Uhlenhopp (Outfield) and Jake Kolker (3rd Base). Justin also earned All-State honors (2nd Team) in Class 3A.

Our team awards that were given out at our end of the season banquet were the following:

Lion Award Winner 2008 (Based on leadership, character, and performance):  Jake Kolker

Offensive Player of the Year:  Justin Uhlenhopp

Defensive Player of the Year:  Bryce Lobdell

Golden Arm (pitcher of the year):  Elliott Neuberger

Newcomer of the year:  Ozzie Adams

Our senior trip is a tradition we hope to continue in the future to reward our seniors for their contributions to the baseball program. This year we went to Kansas City for the weekend and saw the Kansas City Royals play the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night, August 9^th. The trip is for the seniors and their fathers. We stayed in KC Sat. night and on the way home Sunday went paintballing in KC. It was a very enjoyable trip as the kids, dads, and coaches got to see a wonderful baseball game at a beautiful stadium in Kansas City and also have a great time paintballing in some caves outside of Kansas City on the way home Sunday. All the seniors were involved in the paintballing along with Coach Thompson and Todd Uhlenhopp. All of our seniors were able to come on the trip (Justin Uhlenhopp, Bryce Lobdell, Andy Kockler, Walker Wilson, Jake Kolker, and Austin Sabin). The dads that were able to come were Todd Uhlenhopp, Blake Lobdell, Tony Kockler, Joel Kolker, and Brad Sabin. These seniors have a lot to be proud of with what they accomplished as a team and individually this season and their parents have a lot to be proud of because they are all wonderful young men.

At Kansas City watching Royals vs. Twins

The Lions won their first district game 14-7 Friday night against Algona at Forest City. Justin Uhlenhopp picked up the win on the mound and helped lead the offensive attack as well with 3 hits. Jake Kolker also had 3 hits on the night and Patrick Kolker and Zach Schutz each had 2 hits on the night. Bryce Lobdell led the team with 3 RBI and Ozzie Adams, Jake Kolker, and Zach Schutz each had 2 RBI on the night. The Lions will next play Monday night at 7:00 in Forest City against Webster City.