High School Sports

The Harris-Lake Park baseball team enjoyed success this past season, winning four games during a shortened schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic. For their efforts, five Wolves earned postseason recognition. Senior Isaac Ihnen earned First Team All-War Eagle Conference and Second Team All-District honors after leading the Wolves in nearly every statistical category. Ihnen was a Second Team All-War Eagle Conference selection as a junior...

The Harris-Lake Park softball team struggled through a shortened season but picked up its only win when wins matter most. A postseason victory over Trinity Christian highlighted a year of learning for the young squad in 2020. For their efforts, three Wolves earned postseason recognition...

A pair of high school softball heavyweights threw nothing by metaphorical haymakers at one another for seven innings Monday night. In the end, Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley landed too many shots for Spirit Lake to handle, as the 15th-ranked Nighthawks upended the 12th-ranked Indians 16-10 in the Class 3A regional tournament championship in Spirit Lake...

Okoboji's playoff run came to a close Saturday night in Larchwood, as the Pioneers fell to West Lyon in the Class 2A district tournament championship. The ninth-ranked Wildcats defeated the Pioneers 10-0 to advance to the substate round. "We knew going into that game that we were going to have to play as well as we've ever played to give ourselves a chance," Okoboji coach Rory Marra said. ...

The Harris-Lake Park softball team, coming off of its first victory of the season — a 6-5 win over Trinity Christian in the opening round of the playoffs — ran into a buzzsaw in seventh-ranked Akron-Westfield on Wednesday, July 15. The Westerners defeated the Wolves 13-0 in the second round of the Class 1A regional tournament...

Okoboji's softball season came to its conclusion Wednesday, July 15 with a 10-0 loss to 13th-ranked Estherville Lincoln Central in the Class 3A regional tournament in Spirit Lake. The Midgets plated two runs in the first, two in the third and six in the fifth inning to end the night early...

A Jay Swygman home run in the top half of the sixth inning electrified the Okoboji faithful and sent the Pioneers baseball team on to a playoff win over intra-country rival Spirit Lake Tuesday in Larchwood. Swygman's dinger followed a four-run scoring burst by Okoboji — highlighted by a three-run double by Zach Fife — that knotted the contest at 6-6. ...

After going 0-12 through the softball regular season, Harris-Lake Park picked up its first win when wins matter most. The Wolves topped Trinity Christian 6-5 in the opening round of the playoffs held Monday, July 13 in Lake Park. "It was a just a great softball game," Harris-Lake Park coach Ashley Delaney said. ...

Okoboji didn't play a perfect game on Saturday night, but the Pioneers did just enough to advance in the baseball postseason with a win over Central Lyon. The Pioneers defeated the Lions 6-3 in Milford. "We did get out to a good start," Okoboji coach Rory Marra said. ...

Harris-Lake Park's baseball season came to a close Saturday in the opening round of the Class 1A district baseball tournament held in Fonda. The Wolves fell 14-3 to Ridge View. "It just kind of started off not as good as we normally start," Harris-Lake Park coach Lane Gunderson said. ...

After suffering a disappointing loss to Western Christian, the 10th-ranked (3A) Spirit Lake softball team bounced back with a dominant 13-3 victory over Sioux City North on Friday, July 10 to end the regular season. "It was a perfect game to kind of send us rolling into the postseason," Spirit Lake coach Rachel Fisher said. ...

The Spirit Lake baseball team ended its regular season Friday, July 10 with a non-conference home win over East Sac County. The Indians downed the Raiders 11-3 in Spirit Lake. The Indians scored three runs in each of the first three innings to take a commanding lead. The Raiders scored two in the fourth and one in the fifth, but Spirit Lake plated a run in the fourth and fifth innings to end the night early...

The Okoboji softball team dropped a non-conference road game to Alta-Aurelia on Friday, July 10. The Pioneers fell to the Warriors 12-2 in Alta. The Warriors plated three in the first, six in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth. Okoboji scored one run in the second and another in the third inning...

The Okoboji baseball team concluded its regular season slate on Thursday, July 9 with a 10-0 victory over George-Little Rock in Milford. "Jay Swygman started on the hill for us. He was in control all night long," Okoboji coach Rory Marra said. "We were able to get out in front right away, which is a key for us. ...

The Okoboji softball team suffered a 6-3 home loss to George-Little Rock/Central Lyon on Thursday, July 9, but coach Bailey DeBolt said her team played its best game of the year as the Pioneers prepare for the start of postseason play on Wednesday — save for a pair of home runs by Mustangs senior Sutton Schlumbohmn...

The Harris-Lake Park baseball team suffered a 10-0 road loss to Trinity Christian on Thursday, July 9. After one scoreless inning, the Tigers plated one in the second, three in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth and three in the sixth while keeping Harris-Lake Park off the board...

The Harris-Lake Park softball team wrapped its regular season with a 15-5 road loss to Trinity Christian on Thursday, July 9. The Wolves took an early lead after plating three runs in the top half of the opening frame. However, the Tigers battled back, plating two in the first, nine in the second and three in the third inning while holding the Wolves to just two more runs the rest of the way...

The 10th-ranked Spirit Lake softball team dropped its second Lakes Conference contest of the season Thursday, July 9 with a 7-4 loss to Western Christian in Hull. The Wolfpack jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a four-spot in the opening frame. Spirit Lake knotted it at 4-4 in the third, but Western Christian pulled away with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth...

The Okoboji baseball team suffered a Siouxland Conference road loss to Sioux Center on Wednesday, July 8. The Pioneers fell to the Warriors 8-6 in Sioux Center. Okoboji took an early lead with a three-run opening frame and maintained a two-run advantage following a Warriors run in the bottom half of the inning...

The Spirit Lake baseball team dropped a non-conference road trip to second-ranked (1A) Remsen St. Mary's on Tuesday, July 7. The Indians fell 10-0 to the Hawks in Remsen. After two scoreless innings, the Hawks plated two in the third, three in the fourth, four in the fifth and one in the sixth...

The Okoboji softball team dropped a non-conference road trip to Storm Lake on Tuesday, July 7. The Pioneers fell 12-6 to the Tornadoes in Storm Lake. Okoboji took an early lead with two runs in the opening frame, but the Tornadoes scored one in the first and one more in the second to knot it at 2-2...

The Harris-Lake Park baseball team's comeback bid came up short in a 7-5 road loss to Unity Christian on Tuesday, July 7. The two squads were knotted at 1-1 heading into the bottom half of the third inning when Unity Christian exploded for six runs to take a 7-1 lead...

Spirit Lake avenged its only Lakes Conference loss of the season with an 11-1 dismantling of Spencer on Tuesday, July 7. "I was just really impressed with the girls from the start of the game. They knew they had something to prove after our performance at Spencer when we played them the first go-around," Spirit Lake coach Rachel Fisher said. ...

Last year's state semifinalist West Sioux was just too much for Harris-Lake Park to handle Monday night, as the Falcons topped the Wolves 15-0 in War Eagle Conference baseball action in Lake Park. "I just thought West Sioux was better than us last night," Harris-Lake Park coach Lane Gunderson said. ...

Harris-Lake Park hung with West Sioux for three innings, but a nine-run fourth inning pushed the Falcons past the Wolves 16-4 Monday night in War Eagle Conference softball action. The Falcons took a 3-0 lead with two runs in the first and another in the second before the Wolves knotted the game with a three-spot in the bottom half of the second inning...

Senior pitcher Lawton Kramer was dominant Monday night, striking out a dozen in his team's 12-2 home win over West Bend-Mallard. "We had a really good pitching performance from Lawton," Spirit Lake coach Ross Ackerman said. "It was his last time throwing at home on the mound, so I thought it was a great way to send him off being the kid that he is and how well he has thrown for us for the past three years. It was a great game from him on the mound."...

Lakes Conference baseball champion Spirit Lake took a commanding lead over Cherokee but had to hold off a late charge by the Braves to stretch its win streak to three games on Thursday, July 2. The Indians topped the Braves 11-9 in Spirit Lake. "The bats were there," Spirit Lake coach Ross Ackerman said. ...

Spirit Lake jumped all over Cherokee from the outset on Thursday, July 2, as the 10th-ranked (3A) Indians earned a 15-0 win over the Braves in Lakes Conference softball action. "That was a really fun game," Spirit Lake coach Rachel Fisher said. "We were able to get almost every varsity player on the roster in the game at some point. ...

Siouxland Conference rivals Okoboji and MOC-Floyd Valley battled it out for eight innings Thursday evening in a classic high school baseball matchup. In the end, the Dutch pushed a run across in extras to seal a 4-3 win over the Pioneers in Orange City...

The Okoboji softball team lost a Siouxland Conference road trip to MOC-Floyd Valley on Thursday, July 2. The Dutch topped the Pioneers 12-2 in Orange City. Okoboji took a 1-0 lead in the first and a 2-1 lead in the third, but the Dutch scored three in the third, seven in the fourth and one in the fifth to earn the 10-run victory...

The Harris-Lake Park baseball team earned a 5-2 War Eagle Conference road win over MMC-RU on Thursday, July 2. "I thought we were really resilient in that game, especially Isaac (Ihnen)," Harris-Lake Park coach Lane Gunderson said. "He didn't have his best stuff pitching but he found a way to grind through and win it. ...

Lakes Conference rivals Spirit Lake and Storm Lake needed extra innings to determine a winner in Wednesday night's baseball battle. In the end, the Indians did just enough on offense to top the Tornadoes 6-4 in nine innings in Storm Lake. "I thought we hit the ball about as well as we have all year," Spirit Lake coach Ross Ackerman said. ...

Wednesday night's softball showdown between 10th-ranked (3A) Spirit Lake and rival Storm Lake was a bit too close for comfort for the Indians, but the visitors did just enough to earn a 5-2 road win over the Tornadoes. "Gracie Hamm did a great job on the mound for us," Spirit Lake coach Rachel Fisher said. ...

The Harris-Lake Park softball team struggled last week, dropping a trio of games to Sibley-Ocheyedan, Gehlen Catholic and MMC-RU by a combined score of 41-1. "I just kind of thought last week was one of those weeks where nothing quite went our way," Harris-Lake Park coach Ashley Delaney said. ...

The Okoboji softball team lost a one-run road contest with Sibley-Ocheyedan on Wednesday, July 1. The Pioneers fell 4-3 to the Generals in Sibley. Okoboji took an early 1-0 lead with a run in the top half of the opening frame. The visitors added to their lead with a run in the top half of the third, but the Generals pulled ahead with three runs in the bottom half of the frame...

The Okoboji softball team run into a buzzsaw to end the month of June, as the Pioneers fell 10-0 to second-ranked (1A) Newell-Fonda on Wednesday, June 30. After one scoreless inning, the Mustangs plated five in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth to end the night early...

The Harris-Lake Park baseball team dropped a non-conference clash with Sibley-Ocheyedan on Tuesday, June 30. The Generals topped the Wolves 11-5 in Sibley. After one scoreless inning, the Generals took a 3-0 lead with a run in the second and two more in the third...