STANDISH — Levi Tibbetts stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth inning and came up clutch once again.
The Lisbon junior drilled a ball into deep left-center field, clearing the bases and wrapping up a 10-0 victory in five innings in the Class C South final and sending the Greyhounds to the state title game.
“It feels great, but the job is not finished, and I’d like to get one more,” Lisbon senior Hunter Brissette said.
The unbeaten Greyhounds (20-0), the top-seeded team in the South, will take on the North’s No. 1, Bucksport (19-1), in the Class C championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Bangor
“It feels good. The kids are proud of what they’ve accomplished, but the key is, we have one more step,” Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said. “What’s the next step? That’s what we’ve focused on the whole season, getting to the next step. It’s huge for the program and these kids will remember this for the rest of their lives. They played fantastic today. We beat a team that hit the ball hard and we made plays when we needed to. We also hit extremely well.”
An inning before his game-ending hit, Tibbetts started a four-run fourth with an RBI single down the left-field line that gave Lisbon a 4-0 lead.
Ridley said that Tibbetts is protection for Brissette in the lineup and has had big hits for the Greyhounds all season.
Brissette, who earlier Tuesday was named one of seven finalists for the Winkin Award that goes to the state’s top senior baseball player, walked four times and didn’t see many hittable pitches. On the mound, Brissette worked out of an early jam and shut out the No. 6 Black Bears (14-6), allowing just two hits in five innings.
“He is Hunter’s protector in the lineup,” Ridley said. “Everyone knows that Hunter can hit a ball, he’s one of the best ball players out there, so that’s why Levi is there behind him. Hunter wasn’t going to see a ball tonight, and I know exactly where (Maranacook) coach Eric Brown is coming from because I’d probably do the same thing. (Tibbetts is) a great hitter and he came through in a big situation right there.”
Brissette said his pitching wasn’t his “best stuff” Tuesday, but the Greyhounds’ solid defense helped him get out of jams.
“The guys behind me made plays and I was throwing strikes, they put balls in play, and it was great,” Brissette said.
COLLISION COURSE
In the top of the second, Maranacook had runners on second and third with Trent Murry at the plate. Murray struck out after attempting a bunt, then Lisbon catcher Caleb Phillips threw to third base, where Brayden St. Pierre had taken a considerable lead and was caught in a run down.
St. Pierre bolted for home and lowered his shoulder into Phillips. He was called out and, for lowing his shoulder, was ejected from the game.
Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said the play gave the Lisbon players a jolt of energy and motivation, which they used to score their first runs of the game.
“It kind of got the kids a little more excited and into it,” Ridley said. “I had to bring them back a little bit, but they knew what they had to do. They zero’d in with laser focus and they knew what they needed to do.”
“That play at the plate was huge,” Brissette added. “If they score there, we’re down 1-0, but he missed the curve, strike three, and then Caleb was great behind the plate and made the play.”
Nick Ferrence, Mason Booker and Jack Ramich loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, and a passed ball scored Ferrence to make it 1-0 Greyhounds.
Jimmy Fitzsimmons then singled to score Booker, but Ramich was tagged out at home. Ramich bumped into the catcher, enough that he, like St. Pierre earlier in the game, was ejected from the game.
Fitzsimmons later scored on a wild pitch to extend Lisbon’s lead to 3-0.
Maranacook had two base runners in the fourth inning, and a throw past the first baseman and into right field moved the runners into scoring position. Brissette wasn’t rattled and got out of the jam.
“Lisbon is a great team, they’re fantastic, and Brissette is one of the best out there,” Maranacook coach Eric Brown said. “They’re very athletic and they made the plays they needed to make. We needed to play an A game, and we didn’t play our A game.”
In the bottom of the fourth, after Tibbetts’ RBI single, a wild pitch scored Brissette, extending the Greyhounds’ advantage to 5-0, and moved Tibbetts to third base.
Three batters later, with two outs, Bryce Poulin, who came in for Ramich after his ejection, hit a ball into left field that scored two runners and gave Lisbon a 7-0 lead.
“They made the call and we have to go with it,” Ridley said. “I totally understand where (the umpire) was coming from. To have Bryce Poulin to come in and get hits, that was great. It’s what this team has done all year. That’s what I loved the most, that everyone is ready to fill in.”
Brissette sat Maranacook down in order in the fifth and didn’t need to pitch again thanks to Tibbetts’ bases-clearing double.
Lisbon will be vying for its third state championship Saturday, having won the Class B title in 1979 and the Class C title in 2019.
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