One big inning from the Bettendorf Bulldogs brought a close to the baseball season for the Linn-Mar Lions.

Bettendorf scored five runs in the bottom of the second to erase a one-run deficit, and the Bulldogs beat the Lions, 8-3, in a Class 4A substate tournament semifinal Monday, July 19, at Bettendorf. Linn-Mar finished its season at 14-22.

Ben Tallman smacked a two-run double to give the Lions a 2-0 first-inning lead against Bettendorf, but the Bulldogs came back with a run on the bottom of the first and five more in the bottom of the second to put the game out of reach.

"They're a team that puts the ball in play well," Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner said of the Bulldogs. "They don't necessarily drive the ball all that well, but they have a lot of guys who put the ball in the play."

The Lions began their march to the Class 4A substate semifinal round with a convincing 10-4 win over Clinton Friday, July 16, at Clinton. The win improved their overall record to 14-21, and the .333 winning percentage was the team's best since the Lions were .400 at 12-18 after splitting with Waterloo West on July 8.

Linn-Mar scored 10 runs on nine hits and seven walks to beat the River Kings. Tyler Kruse and Ben Tallman each smacked two doubles and drove in two runs apiece, Jordan Atwater doubled and drove in three runs and scored three more, and Ben Larison drove in three runs to lead the offense.

"I thought at the end of the season were playing our best baseball, and that's what your goal should be with any group," Lechner said. "It was a big win against Clinton. That was the best game we played all year, and we felt confident going into (Monday) night."

The Lions never really got a roll at any point during the season. Their longest winning streak was three games, a feat achieved twice.

"It was an enjoyable season," Lechner said. "The group that we had was a good group, a fun group to coach. You look at the record, and it's not maybe where you'd hope it to be or where you would necessarily like it to be, but I thought they improved a lot throughout the year."

Earlier this week, it was announced that Ben Larison was a first-team All-Metro selection in a vote by the seven Metro area coaches. Jordan Atwater and Jake Stolley were second-team picks, and Michael Redmond and Jordan Stroschein received honorable mention recognition.

Larison hit .383 with a home run, 31 RBIs and 27 runs scored. Atwater hit .246 and was 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA from the pitcher's mound. Stroschein led the team in batting with a .390 batting average, three home runs and 14 RBIs.