LISBON — Throughout the spring high school softball season, Lisbon coach Terri Tlumac has looked for consistency from her lineup.
On Wednesday, in a Mountain Valley Conference doubleheader against Carrabec, Tlumac was pleased with the final results: a pair of Greyhound wins. But that consistency again escaped Lisbon, which improved to 8-4 after 9-6 and 11-7 victories over the Cobras (2-11).
In the opener, the bottom of Lisbon’s lineup — Sydney Plourde, Joanna Turner and Sarah Haggerty — combined for three hits, five runs and three RBIs.
In Game 2, it was the top four that came through as Giana Russo, Mallory Fairbanks, Kiley Merritt and Ivy Morris were a combined 7-of-13 at the plate with seven runs scored and seven RBIs.
“One of these days we are going to string together nine batters and it will be amazing when it happens,” said Tlumac, whose Greyhounds visit Telstar on Friday and host Winthrop on Saturday morning. “Yesterday (a 4-2 win over Telstar), my top five didn’t get a hit and my bottom half carried us through. In the second game today, it flip-flopped.”
For Carrabec, it was a pair of solid games in which a big hit might have made a difference.
“We’re starting to really hit the ball. We scored 17 runs in our last game. We made some mistakes, but we are up there swinging the bat and not striking out much. We have no seniors,” Cobras coach Terry Corson said.
GAME 1
Carrabec struck for two first-inning runs against Lisbon starter Mallory Fairbanks in the opener. Ashley Cates drove in Paige Cormier and Trinity Slate with a single to right field.
Lisbon answered against Carrabec pitcher Shayanne Holmes in the second and third frames. An appeal by Tlumac on a close play at first base after a bunt by Plourde kept the inning going as an out call was reversed. Haggerty had a big hit out of her No. 8 position and Fairbanks ripped an RBI single for a 4-2 Lisbon lead.
“It is important to remember that we all have an equal part in the team, and if we all do our job, we can go far and carry our teammates,” said Haggerty, who was 3-for-4 on the day. “We had to stay focused these 10 innings today, and I think we did that.”
The Greyhounds seemed to put the game away in the third, plating five runs as Turner ripped a two-run double and Haggerty followed with a run-scoring single to up Lisbon’s lead to 9-2.
But as they always seem to do against the Greyhounds, the Cobras rallied for four runs in the fourth to get back into the game.
“It is always a close game with Carrabec, and for us it is about getting my ‘A’ team or my ‘B’ team,” Tlumac said. “They just are not firing on all cylinders, and when half the order is hitting and the other isn’t, it is just not consistent.”
Holmes, who was 2-for-3 in both contests, started the rally with a single and Sarah Olson (RBI single) and Slate (two-run double) added key hits in the frame.
“If we put everything together we can compete with most of the teams in the league,” said Holmes, who pitched both games. “My teammates are really good at backing me up, and we hung in there today.”
Fairbanks earned the win, pitching all five innings on six hits, seven walks and three strikeouts. Holmes permitted just five hits with three walks and two punch-outs.
GAME 2
Despite playing on its home field, Lisbon played the visitors in the second game.
The Greyhounds started fast. Russo tripled to open the game and scored on a two-run double by Merritt. Morris drove in Merritt with a single, and Erica Hill and Carly Drischler produced a base-knock each. Russo and Morris each added a single later in the frame as Lisbon plated eight runs.
“I wasn’t really in the game until everyone started cracking the bat,” Morris said. “The start made it a lot easier today, especially when we got into the fourth and fifth inning of that second game.”
“I said we had to move on from the first game and come out fresh and swinging the bats,” Tlumac added. “It wasn’t a new pitcher, and we had seen her. They knew the expectation was to come out strong.”
Carrabec didn’t go away. The Cobras picked up four runs in their first swings as Giroux tripled and Cheyenne Sirois drove in a pair with a double.
In the opening frame, the teams combined to bring 22 hitters to plate with 12 runs and 10 hits as Lisbon held an 8-4 advantage.
Carrabec closed to 8-6 in the second as Slate drove in a run with a double, but Lisbon answered with three runs in the third, as Fairbanks singled in a run, followed by a two-run single by Morris.
Giroux walked with the bases-loaded in the third for the game’s final run.
Hill earned the pitching win in Game 2, going the distance on eight hits, two strikeouts and three walks. Holmes permitted 10 hits and five walks with two strikeouts.
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