WISCASSET

A little over a week ago, the baseball teams of Lisbon and Wiscasset High Schools found themselves looking at a washed-out field due to heavy rain showers, with the Greyhounds leading, 7-0.

On Tuesday, the two met once again to replay the contest, but this time it was a little tighter, with Lisbon holding on to 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,” Greyhounds head coach Randy Ridley said in reference to Monday’s 6-5 extra-inning 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 after the game. “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.”

Tyler Flavin was initially given the ball for the Wolverines (2-3) to start the game. However, after issuing a lead-off walk to Ryley Austin and giving up an infield single to RJ Sargent, while 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 basesloaded jam unscathed.

Francis took a moment to find his groove, giving up a lead-off single to Wolverines’ catcher Grant Hefler, but began to settle in as the southpaw didn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning.

“Noah did a great job today,” Ridley said of his sophomore starter. “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 about his first start. “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 to get things started and then advanced to second on a ground out to third. With one out, Lerette hit a hardhit ball to shortstop, but a tough hop gave him the single and gave way to Ward to cross the plate for the 1-0 advantage.

Wolverines push

Come the top of the fifth, the Greyhounds managed to tack on another run when Bourget sprinted home on a wild pitch. 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 baseknock 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 give Wiscasset 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 offguard 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 as Tyler Halls led off with a double into the gap in left-center field and tagged up on an Austin Fournier fly out. After a pick-off attempt went array, Halls flew into 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 a 5- 3 lead.

The Wolverines threatened in the bottom of the seventh, but not before Francis struck two straight batters. Flavin sent a pitch back where it came from to keep the game alive, stole second and reached third on a passed ball. Hefler then hit what ended up being 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 was able to beat the throw.

However, 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.”

Noah Francis and Nick Lerette; Tyler
Flavin, Matt Craig (1) and Grant
Hefler.
Doubles — (L) Kyle Bourget, Tyler
Halls; (W) Grant Hefler 2.
Repeat hitters — (L) RJ Sargent,
Kyle Bourget; (W) Grant Hefler 3,
Tyler Bailey.
Records — Lisbon 4-1, Wiscasset 2-
3.
Up next for the Greyhounds — Today
at home against Hall-Dale, 4:30 p.m.
Up next for the Wolverines — Today
at Telstar, 4:30 p.m.