LISBON — As the game began to turn in Dirigo’s favor Monday, the Lisbon softball team wasn’t worrying about what had just happened.
With the game on the line, the Greyhounds were focused on the next play and the one after that.
“We preach a lot about the next thing,” Lisbon coach Terri Tlumac said. “We focus on the next pitch, the next hit. You can’t fix what’s already occurred. With that mindset, the girls have a clearer head. They’re not worried about the momentum changing. They just go with what they know.”
All of a sudden the tide swung back in Lisbon’s favor. In the sixth inning, when Dirigo appeared poised to take a lead into the seventh, the Greyhounds watched the next play change the game. Then the next play followed and another after that. All of a sudden the Greyhounds had the lead. Lisbon finished off the Cougars soon thereafter for a 5-4 win.
“I think that builds us back up and makes us want to get fired up and do our best,” said freshman outfielder Mallory Fairbanks of the deficit.
Lisbon rallied for three runs on three hits and three Dirigo errors in the sixth inning. Then pitcher Alyssa Hall finished off the game in the seventh with three straight outs after a lead-off hit by Brittany Greig.
“It was just a couple of little errors in that sixth inning,” Dirigo coach Sara Thurston said. “That seems to be our haunted inning so far. We’re reaching the halfway point of the season and hopefully, those days are in the past for us.”
Dirigo took a 4-2 lead in the sixth when pitcher Katelyn Olsen tripled in three runs. After just three hits through the first four innings, the Cougars started to make some noise offensively.
“It was exciting to see the girls getting the bat on the ball,” Thurston said. “We had some really solid hits, even if they were at people. Katelyn made contact with the ball like she hasn’t in the last four years. That’s a great indicator of getting some swings in and getting some practice in. We’re starting to see the ball and make good contact.”
Dirigo had also made some great defensive plays. The Cougars nixed a threat in the fifth by throwing out Brittany Norman trying to leg out a triple. Then to start the sixth, Dirigo squelched a threat started by Kipri Steele’s lead-off double with a double play.
The Cougars couldn’t escape the inning unscathed, however. An error on a Jasmin Le hit started the rally. Ali Sult followed with a single. Hall had a grounder that was thrown away, allowing Le to score. Then a fly by Kate Philbrick was dropped in the outfield. Sult and Hall raced home for the lead.
“They really picked it up,” Fairbanks said of the Lisbon offense. “It was very up and intense in the dugout and everybody was happy.”
Lisbon, currently ranked fourth in Class C South, took the early lead when Fairbanks singled in a Norman in the first. Dirigo tied it in the third when a Lueders sacrifice fly scored Olsen. Fairbanks gave Lisbon the lead with a double that plated Steele in the third.
“The girls were aggressive at the plate consistently throughout the game,” Tlumac said. “We just couldn’t punch it through. I think the consistency of making contact worked in a game like this. It finally goes through.”
Hall scattered eight hits, struck out two and walked none. Olsen was equally effective. She allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked just one. Both teams had chances on offense. Steele, Fairbanks and Sult each had two hits for the Greyhounds (6-2) while Ashley Perreault had three hits and Olsen had a pair for Dirigo.
“The top of my order scored at the beginning of the game and the bottom of my order finished the win,” Tlumac said. “That’s nice to see, that my whole lineup can produce when needed.”
It was the third loss in the last four games for the Cougars (3-4), ranked eighth in C South. Despite the disappointing loss, the Cougars showed some positives in the game between the increased offense and flashes of some stellar fielding.
“Having a big gap with our experience level, the younger kids are starting to gain some confidence and not doubt themselves,” Thurston said. “That only comes with experience.”
kmills@sunjournal.com
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