Stories from Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Spirit Lake freshman pitcher Gracie Hamm was darn near untouchable Tuesday night, as the first-year ace allowed just three hits in a shutout win over Sioux Central. The Indians topped the Rebels 12-0 in Spirit Lake. Hamm went four innings, allowing just three hits and no walks while fanning three Sioux Central batters...

The Harris-Lake Park softball team suffered a 10-run road loss Tuesday, May 21 to South O'Brien. The Wolves fell 10-0 in Primghar. "Tonight we allowed South O'Brien too many extra hitting attempts and just couldn't get our bats going," Harris-Lake Park coach Ashley Delaney said. "South O'Brien did a good job of being aggressive on the bases and putting the pressure on us."...

Spirit Lake fell behind early and could never dig its way out of that hole Tuesday, May 21 in an 8-5 road loss to Pocahontas Area. The hosts scored three in the first, two in the second and two in the third to jump out to a 7-0 lead through three. After a scoreless fourth, Spirit Lake plated a pair to make it a five-run deficit. ...

The Okoboji softball team fell behind early in a 6-1 loss to West Lyon on Thursday, May 30. The Pioneers surrendered four runs in the opening frame but played the Wildcats to a 2-1 contest the rest of the way thanks to a solid defensive effort. "Our defense was the strongest I have ever seen it in 2 years and we only committed one error," Okoboji coach Bailey DeBolt said. ...

Okoboji and Emmetsburg combined for 22 runs and 18 hits Thursday, May 30 in non-conference baseball action. The Pioneers outlasted the E-Hawks 12-10 in Emmetsburg. "It seems like every time we play Emmetsburg at their place we have games like this," Okoboji coach Rory Marra said. "I'm sure it's entertaining for the fans. It was definitely nice to see some of our bats continue to get more comfortable. We are seeing better contact. Our pitchers made some big pitches at times, of course, we need to be better in the field. ...

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji girls soccer team saw its season come to an end Tuesday, May 21 in a regional tournament contest with Lakes Conference rival Spencer. The Tigers topped SLPO 10-0 in Spencer. "We struggled to contain Spencer's attack throughout the match," SLPO coach Tristam Nebelsick said. ...

Spirit Lake and Spencer did all of their scoring in the fifth inning of a 2-1 Indians road win Wednesday. Second-year coach Ross Ackerman said his Indians entered Wednesday night's Lakes Conference opener with additional focus. "First of all, Spencer is always a tough place to play and a tough team to beat," Ackerman said. ...

Spirit Lake and Spencer combined for 17 runs and 20 hits Wednesday evening in Spirit Lake, but the Indians did the most damage in a 10-7 Lakes Conference softball victory. The Tigers took an early lead, plating two runs in each of the first three innings to lead 6-1, but the Indians bounced back by outscoring the Tigers 8-1 the rest of the way...

Iowa is blessed with a variety of rivers, creeks, and lakes offering a number of different types of experiences for beginner to expert paddler. 18,000 miles of navigable streams await exploration by curious paddlers from across the state. The Iowa DNR wants you to enjoy, appreciate, and respect Iowa's rivers. We hope you find this site very useful...

2019 could easily be renamed the “year of student research” at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. Several exciting projects will be implemented over the summer and will provide valuable information for the Iowa Great Lakes Community. Stay tuned for results from these projects on the Lakeside Lab webpage and in future OPA newsletters...

The calls have been coming in to field offices and conservation officers for the past few weeks and will only increase as the calendar flips to June - the peak fawning season is right around the corner. The calls have been coming in to field offices and conservation officers for the past few weeks and will only increase as the calendar flips to June - the peak fawning season is right around the corner...

Across the Midwest and almost all of North America, most fish in most places are done spawning. After a few days of rest, those fish will want to eat. If you can put a bait near a fish, it will probably eat it. Therefore, it’s good to show as many fish as possible your bait, and the best way to do that is by trolling. Trolling enables an angler to cover lots of water quickly and efficiently. Here's how you can troll to catch more fish now and for the next few months...

Finally, we get a break from daily rains. It certainly is something for which our farmers have been longing. Plus, it gives a chance for the rivers to get back in their banks and for our lakes to catch up. At the Iowa Great Lakes, we have been hoping that the water levels would begin to recede, and as of Sunday, June 2, it began to happen. ...

The Harris-Lake Park baseball team suffered a 6-0 home loss to MMCRU on Monday. Harris-Lake Park coach Lane Gunderson said the lack of offensive production was the main culprit. "The guys played well tonight," he said. "We didn't get the timely hits we needed to stay in the game. We improved a lot from our first game and are making positive strides."...

The Okoboji softball team struck first but ultimately lost a 7-1 Siouxland Conference clash with Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley Monday in Hull. After three scoreless innings, the Pioneers plated one as freshman Elli Hanson crossed home to put her squad up 1-0...

The Okoboji baseball team lost a 9-2 Siouxland Conference road contest to Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley on Monday. Okoboji coach Rory Marra blamed a lack of offensive production, due in part to the Nighthawks' pitching. "We really didn't get into a flow offensively," Marra said. ...

Coming off of a 19-0 loss to Sergeant Bluff-Luton over the weekend, the Spirit Lake baseball team exacted a bit of revenge Monday in a 13-1 road rout of Western Christian. After a scoreless first, the Indians plated six in the second to take a lead. The Wolfpack responded with a run in the bottom half of the second, but the Indians plated four in the third and three in the fifth to end the night early...

With an average of more than nine runs per game, Spirit Lake's offense has been impressive to start the 2019 softball season. Monday's 19-7 Lakes Conference road win over Western Christian put the Indians' firepower on full display. The Indians collected 15 hits and 15 RBIs in a dominant performance against the Wolfpack, scoring at least two runs in each of the game's five innings...

The Harris-Lake Park softball team won one and lost one at a tournament hosted by Storm Lake on Saturday, May 1. The Wolves defeated Pocahontas Area 11-4 but fell 4-1 to the host Tornadoes. In the win over the Indians, Harris-Lake Park scored five in the first, four in the second and two in the third. Pocahontas Area scored one in the first and three in the third. Both teams remained scoreless the rest of the way...

The Spirit Lake baseball team split a pair of contests over the weekend, as the Indians topped Sheldon 11-3 but fell 19-0 to Sergeant Bluff-Luton Saturday in Sheldon. In their win over the Orabs, the Indians scored one in the first, two in the third and four in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. Sheldon got three back in the fourth, but Spirit Lake plated two in the fifth and two more in the seventh while holding the Orabs scoreless the rest of the way...

Spirit Lake went 3-0 at a tournament hosted by Sheldon on Saturday. The Indians defeated Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley, Sheldon and Sioux Center to improve to 7-2 overall on the season. In their 8-4 win over the Nighthawks, the Indians plated one in the first, two in the third, three in the fourth and two in the sixth. BH/RV held a brief lead after a two-run second inning but managed just one run in both the fifth and sixth innings in the loss...

The Harris-Lake Park softball team led early, but couldn't hold on in a 4-1 conference road loss to West Sioux. The Wolves pushed one across in the top half of the first frame in Hawarden, but the Falcons scored one run in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings to win...

The Harris-Lake Park baseball team dropped its season-opener Friday in a 14-1 conference road loss to West Sioux. After a scoreless first inning, the Falcons plated five in the second, one in the third and eight in the fourth. The Wolves managed to push one across in the top half of the fourth, but it was not enough, as the contest ended early...

Spirit Lake could not keep up with Le Mars during a Lakes Conference road trip Friday. The Indians fell 16-6 to the Bulldogs. Le Mars scored a run in the opening frame before erupting for six in the second to take an 8-1 lead. Spirit Lake cut into the deficit with three runs in the third and two in the fourth to make it a 10-6 Le Mars lead, but the Bulldogs pushed six across in the bottom half of the fifth and held the Indians scoreless the rest of the way...

Okoboji battered Central Lyon Friday evening in Rock Rapids. The Pioneers pounded the Lions for 18 hits in a 21-4 in Siouxland Conference baseball victory. "We were really good offensively tonight," Okoboji coach Rory Marra said. "The game started off with a single by Jacob Allen, then Jay Swygman rounded the bases with a two-run inside the park home run. From there, we just kept adding as we scored in every inning. We were aggressive at the plate and on the base paths. So many contributed to the total team effort ... ...

Okoboji plated a pair in the opening frame Wednesday, May 29, but the Pioneers were held scoreless the rest of the way in a 5-2 home loss to Sheldon in Siouxland Conference softball action. The Orabs did most of their damage in the top half of the fourth inning, scoring four runs to take a lead they would not relinquish. The visitors tacked on one more in the top half of the fifth to make it a three-run win...

Okoboji kicked off the Siouxland Conference baseball season with a 4-1 home win over Sheldon on Wednesday, May 29. The Pioneers took an early lead and held the Orabs to just one run behind a solid defensive effort and timely pitching by senior Jacob Allen...

Harris-Lake Park picked up its first win of the softball season at a weekend tournament in Storm Lake and added its first conference win Monday in a 3-1 victory over MMCRU. "This was a good team win for us," Harris-Lake Park coach Ashley Delaney said. "We limited our errors which really helped us. We were also making MMCRU make plays. We were hitting the ball tonight, which is a positive as we will continue to hit and, hopefully, find some more gaps along the way."...

Spirit Lake handed seventh-ranked (2A) West Sioux its first loss of the season Thursday. The unranked Indians edged the Falcons 8-6 in Spirit Lake. "I am extremely pleased with our team's performance against West Sioux," Spirit Lake coach Rachel Fisher said. "West Sioux was undefeated going into the game with a very solid pitcher/catcher duo. They are very well-coached with a good lineup from top to bottom. Our girls stepped out on the field from the get-go ready to play hard."...

Spirit Lake-Okoboji senior Casie Barba made her second trip to the state tennis tournament — and her first in singles play — last week. The 2019 Lakes Conference Co-Tennis Player of the Year went 1-2 at the Class 1A tournament held Wednesday, May 29-Saturday, June 1 in Iowa City...

According to Okoboji girls golf coach Bill Alexander, 'You don't want to ride in the car with (the Pioneers) when they're excited." If that's the case, the ride back from Ames last week must have been something else for the longtime coach, as his girls earned a runner-up finish at the 2019 Class 2A IGHSAU State Golf Tournament...