WALES — In the early stages of this wet spring season, Lisbon High School baseball coach Randy Ridley has liked what he has seen from the young Greyhounds.
In his squad’s fourth Mountain Valley Conference contest Wednesday, Lisbon put together two early three-run innings and rode the solid pitching of DJ Douglass and Neil LaRochelle to a 7-0 victory over rival Oak Hill (2-3).
The Greyhounds are 4-0 ahead of Friday’s home contest with Telstar. Much of the early success has come from jumping on opponents early, followed by solid defense and pitching.
Facing Oak Hill lefty Reid Cote, the Greyhounds jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on a Lucas Francis two-run double. LaRochelle (3-for-4, two runs, RBI, three stolen bases) singled and later scored on a two-out single by Douglass for a 3-0 advantage.
“We like to get things going early and it takes the weight off our pitchers,” said Francis, who was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored.
Oak Hill had a chance to answer back in the home half of the first. Cote and Gavin Rawstron singled, but Douglass picked up a key strikeout and groundout to escape.
“Lisbon is very good and very clean, and in order to make a comeback against them you have to capitalize, and we didn’t in a couple situations,” said Oak Hill coach Chad Stowell, whose Raiders are scheduled to visit Mountain Valley on Friday. “They don’t give you anything. They play unbelievable defense.”
In the second, Lisbon put together another three-run outburst. Noah Austin walked and stole second, and Francis singled Austin home for his third RBI and a 4-0 lead. Francis stole second and trotted home on a single by LaRochelle, and LaRochelle followed with a steal and touched home on a single by Jack Tibbetts for a 6-0 edge.
“In the second inning we did it with two outs, which is nice to see. I am pleased with how we started, and we played good, solid defense all the way through,” Ridley said.
Douglass tossed three scoreless frames, allowing three singles with one strikeout on just 36 pitches. LaRochelle relieved and was solid in his first varsity pitching appearance. He held Oak Hill hitless with one hit batter in four innings. He struck out two. Douglass and LaRochelle combined to retired 15 straight Raiders at one point.
“They threw very well. It shows we have more depth in the pitching staff from what we lost last year,” Ridley said.
Cote battled, retiring the Greyhounds in order in the third. He pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out two. Jackson Arbour took over from there, pitching 3 2/3 scoreless frames (two hits, two strikeouts, one walk).
Oak Hill received solid defensive plays from Rawstron at shortstop, along with a diving stab of a flyball by center fielder Caleb Treadwell.
“Reid didn’t pitch terrible and kept us in it, and Jackson came in and threw strikes,” Stowell said. “This was probably our best defensive game of the year, and it shows that we are making steps in the right direction.”
“Oak Hill is going to be a very good ballclub, we just got fortunate hits at the right times today,” Ridley said.
Lisbon was 8-for-8 in stolen bases. Tibbetts went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, a walk and an RBI, while leadoff hitter Hunter Brissette walked twice, stole two bases and scored twice. Francis at shortstop and Levi Levesque at first base turned in several solid plays in the field to keep Oak Hill off the bases.
“We emphasize fielding in practice, making sure we are doing the little things. Good defense leads to wins,” Francis said.
Treadwell, Cote and Rawstron were each 1-for-3 for Oak Hill.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
