WISCASSET — What a difference a week makes.
A little over a week ago, Lisbon and Wiscasset watched as a heavy round of showers washed out the baseball field on which they were playing. The Greyhounds led, 7-0, but the game was called off in the third inning, and the teams had to start all over again Tuesday.
This time it was a little tighter. Lisbon held on for a 5-4 Mountain Valley Conference victory behind a strong pitching performance from Noah Francis.
“You can tell we’re still trying to get over yesterday’s game,” Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said, referencing Monday’s extra-innings loss to Monmouth. “We’re still down a little bit, but I think we’re amped up for tomorrow. We got Hall-Dale and I think our boys are ready for that, they’re ready to get going. But, we did enough to win today.”
“I think for the last three games, we’re starting to show up,” Wiscasset coach Mike Bowles said. “I don’t know if that’s just getting out on the field more, the weather is also warming up. Last time we played these guys it was 50 degrees and raining. I thought we did a great job staying in it, keeping our composure. The game could have gone south in the first inning, but they did a great job getting out of it.”
The Wolverines initially gave the ball to Tyler Flavin on the mound. However, after issuing a lead-off walk to Ryley Austin, giving up an infield single to RJ Sargent and hitting Kyle Bourget, Bowles brought in Matt Craig to help patch up the early struggles. Craig shut the Greyhounds (4-1) down to get out of the bases-loaded jam unscathed.
Francis took a moment to find his groove, giving up a lead-off single to Wolverines catcher Grant Hefler. But he settled in, and the southpaw didn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning.
“Noah did a great job today,” Ridley said. “I’m very pleased with his first full outing of seven innings. He buckled down, threw great pitches. The middle of their (Wiscasset) order, 3-4-5 is very tough. They came up and did their job when they had a chance to hit and they did it.”
“I feel great,” Francis said. “It was my first outing and it couldn’t have been better.”
Lisbon struck first in the second frame. Darren Ward was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a ground out to third. With one out, Lerette smacked a hard-hit ball to shortstop, but a tough hop gave him the single and allowed to Ward to cross the plate for the 1-0 advantage.
The Greyhounds added another run when Bourget sprinted home on a wild pitch in the fifth.
However, the Wolverines got to Francis. Tyler Bailey and Conlon Ranta hit back-to-back singles into center field, and with one out, Ron Drake loaded the bases on a base knock to left.
Francis recorded his second strikeout of the inning to take a step closer of getting out of the jam, but Hefler smoked a first-pitch fastball to deep left field for a bases-clearing double to take a 3-2 lead.
“Last time we played them we were caught in a rain delay and we were trailing, 7-0,” Wiscasset second baseman Brycson Grover said. “But, to come back like this I think we caught them off guard a little bit. What really did it for us was our defense. We stuck together no matter what the situation was and we played as a team. We’ve been doing that the last couple of games and it has paid off for us.”
Lisbon responded in the next half inning. Tyler Halls led off with a double to the gap in left-center and tagged up on an Austin Fournier fly out. After a pick-off attempt went awry, Halls flew home to tie the game at three.
An inning later the Greyhounds regained control when Austin walked and reached second on an infield single up the middle. Bourget loaded the bases with a single into center and was followed by a six-pitch walk issued to Joe Philbrick to force in the go-ahead run. Halls then hit a sacrifice fly to center to give his team the 5-3 lead.
The Wolverines threatened in the bottom of the seventh, but not before Francis struck out the first two batters.
Flavin then sent a pitch back up the middle to keep the game alive, stole second and reached third on a passed ball. Hefler then hit a rare infield double. After beating the throw to first base, Hefler thought he was out and was halfway to second before anyone realized what was going on. He scurried toward second and beat the throw.
But Francis struck out his 12th hitter of the game to seal the win for the Greyhounds.
“It was a fight right from the beginning,” Francis said. “We came out slow, but we picked it up at the end of the game. We’re just out here grinding at the end of the day.”
“It’s tough to be on the wrong side of the score,” Bowles said. “But, when you look at everything and how the game went I don’t think you can be upset with how it played out.”
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