LISBON CATCHER Jasmin Le, center, puts the tag on Wiscasset base runner Farrah Casey in the second inning of Wednesday’s MVC high school softball contest in Lisbon. Casey was out on the play, and Le’s Greyhounds charged ahead for a 15-2 victory in Lisbon.
When Lisbon scored three runs in its first at-bat on Wednesday against one-win Wiscasset, the Greyhounds might have thought this Mountain Valley Conference game was going to be easy.
WISCASSET SHORTSTOP Kelsey Jones (8) awaits Lisbon base runner Jeanna Turner (4) on a steal attempt at second base. Turner was out on the play.
After that brief scare, Lisbon went to work, stealing nine bases and running away with a 15-2 mercy-rule victory.
LISBON SHORTSTOP Brittany Norman makes a catch of an infield fly ball in the Greyhounds’ 15-2 victory.
“I said, ‘these girls know how to hit the ball. We need to get it together,’” said Lisbon coach Terri Tlumac after Wiscasset’s two-run rally. “The tide swung from there, and we started to make more aggressive swings and play defense.”
Lisbon put up six runs in the second and five more in the third to take control. Sult led the Greyhounds at the plate and in the field. She was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, following up a pair of solid games for the senior at the plate.
“I am focusing a little bit more on the ball,” said Sult, who until recently did not play the field and was hitting out of the No. 9 spot. “It feels much better to be playing the field and to be hitting the ball.”
“I had her strategically batting ninth, but she has done her job and is a concrete thinker and does whatever is asked of her,” said Tlumac of Sult.
Trailing 3-0, Sydnie Thayer singled and Paige Adams walked for Wiscasset. Thayer beat a throw to third on a ground ball by Casey to load the bases with no outs, and Maeve Blodgett lined the ball off of Lisbon pitcher Alyssa Hall’s glove for an infield single to get the Wolverines on the board.
One out later, Corey Campbell singled to center field. Adams scored, but Sult’s throw had Lisbon catcher Jasmin Le waiting on Casey for the second out.
“At the moment, I was focusing on getting the ball to home, and I was like ‘I just did that,’” said Sult of her throw to the plate. “I have a tendency of throwing the ball over. It was a big play.”
Big second
Lisbon quickly gained control in its second swings. In all, 11 Greyhounds came to the plate, with Hall (double) and Mallory Fairbanks (single) picking up the lone hits. Three Wiscasset errors, two walks and four wild pitches made for a 9-2 Lisbon lead.
“The one thing for me and the girls is to stay positive, knowing that we are going to make mistakes,” said Wiscasset coach Gordon Campbell after watching his team commit nine errors. “Our pitcher, Sydnie Thayer hit a girl. I talked to her, told her that she is going to make mistakes. It was her first time pitching this year.”
Lisbon kept it rolling in the third. The lone hit came from Sult. The Greyhounds stole five bases and scored four more runs on wild pitches as they aggressively ran the bases.
Campbell said he is playing several freshmen who are learning on the job, with veterans playing different positions.
“We are playing a lot of freshmen and it is a learning curve,” said Campbell. “A player like junior Lindsey Gordon is helping us out by playing several positions. She has played first, is normally a shortstop. Today she made a lot of good plays in the outfield. The score doesn’t always indicate how well they played. They are working really hard.”
Hall had a solid outing, finishing with five strikeouts, four walks and just five hits allowed for the mound win.
Next comes a big challenge against Telstar. So far, the Greyhounds have taken care of the struggling teams on their schedule, including a 17-2 win over Mt. Abram on Tuesday, while falling to talented squads Monmouth and Oak Hill.
“The hope for us is after playing teams of a different caliber that they will go in with their heads high knowing they are getting big hits and fielding well,” said Tlumac. “We have to realize that we are good at this. We just need to keep it together.”
Thayer permitted six hits and walked nine in her four innings of work. Of the 15 runs she allowed, just three were earned.
Lisbon 15, Wiscasset 2
At Lisbon
| Wiscasset | — 020 | 00 | — | 2-5-9 | |
| Lisbon | — | 365 | 1X | — | 15-6-0 |
Sydnie Thayer and Corey Campbell; Alyssa Hall and Jasmin Le. WP — Hall; LP — Thayer. Doubles — (L) Brittany Norman, Alyssa Hall. Repeat hitter — (L) Ali Sult. Records — Lisbon 4-2; Wiscasset 1- 7. Up next for the Wolverines — Today at Carrabec, 4 p.m. Up next for the Greyhounds — Today at Telstar, 4 p.m.
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