The Lisbon varsity baseball team navigated week two of the season with four wins and two losses, beginning Tuesday, Jun. 1 at Alburnett, where the Lions split a doubleheader with the home team.
The Pirates took the first game 6-2.
The Lions were first on the scoreboard, scoring one run in the top of the fifth to take a 1-0 lead.
Kaden Caspers drew a two-out walk and Alex Bock drove him in with a triple to right center. Bock scored on a passed-ball to the next batter.
The Pirates responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Luke Czarnecki led all Lions with two hits in the opening game. Hunter Clark took the loss at pitcher, allowing four earned runs over six innings and striking out four.
The Lions bounced back in game two, defeating the Pirates 2-1.
Alburnett conjured an RBI-single in the first inning, though the Lions held them scoreless for the remainder of the game.
In the top of the fifth, Dillon Brayton walked and Hunter Clark singled. After a sacrifice bunt by Caspers, Bock singled to right center, bringing home Brayton and courtesy runner Ben Morningstar.
The two runs in the fifth inning was all that Tyson Scott needed to finish out the game. Scott went the full seven innings, striking out 11 in the process.
Clark led the Lions with two hits, and Landon Stolte, Cohen Kamaus and Czarnecki each chipped in doubles.
“Alburnett is a well-coached and scrappy team — they’ll take advantage of any mistake you make,” said Lions coach John Tesensky, who observed his team had competed well for 12 of the 14 innings they had played that night.
“I was really proud of our game two effort. The boys came back determined to get that road split. Offensively, we had much better at-bats in game two. All in all, it was a great team effort to manage a split against Alburnett,” Tesensky said.
Lions sweep Calamus-WheatlandThursday, the Lions hosted the Calamus-Wheatland Warriors for more doubleheader action, taking game one 8-4 and game two 6-2.
Lisbon hopped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of game one with RBIs from Bock, Brayden Boots and Tyson Scott.
The Lions scored four additional runs in the bottom of the third — Brayton, Kamaus and Scott each had an RBI in that frame.
Scott and Czarnecki led all hitters with two hits each. Bock scored two runs, and earned the win in relief on the mound, scattering five hits over four innings and striking out four.
The Lions jumped ahead 3-0 in the second game as well, helped by Scott’s RBI single and Caspers’s RBI groundout.
Stolte drove Bock in during the third inning. Brayton scored in the fourth. Morningstar walked, stole second and third, and scored on a passed ball in the top of the sixth to round out Lisbon’s scoring.
Czarnecki went 6 and 1/3 innings on the mound. He gave up four hits, had four walks and struck out six. Brayton closed out the game, inducing a pop out and strikeout.
“It’s great to get back into the win column, especially in conference play, said Tesensky. “The boys grinded out two wins — it was awesome to witness their team effort.”
Mustangs
topple Lions 9-2 Friday, the team took the field at Ash Park to take on next-door-neighbors the Mount Vernon Mustangs in a non-conference game.
The Mustangs tamed the Lions 9-2.
Mount Vernon scored five runs in the third inning, and four more in the fifth, while Lisbon chalked up two runs, also in the fifth.
Connor Klinkhammer, a senior for the Mustangs, was a source of consternation for the Lions with three hits, one run, and a double.
Aidan Nosek, another Mustangs senior, had two hits, two runs, two RBIs, and three stolen bases.
Brady Ketchum, still another senior for the Mustangs, was awarded the win, pitching one inning and allowing zero runs.
Lisbon had a lone single, coming from Stolte. Stolte and Morningstar each had an RBI. Kamaus and Boots combined for eight strikeouts on the mound in the losing effort.
“Our bats struggled to get our offense rolling,” said Tesensky. “It’s hard to be in a position to win when you can’t hit.”
“For the most part, our pitchers did a good job of throwing strikes. It was a frustrating night for us, but we’ll learn and work to be better,” Tesensky said.
Lions top Orioles 9-1The team bounced back at Lisbon City Park the following day, with a 9-1 win over the Springville Orioles in a rescheduled Tri-Rivers Conference game.
Czarnecki led the charge at the plate, going three-for-four with a triple and three RBIs.
Bock and Brayton each chipped in two hits, and Morningstar stole three bases.
Clark pitched all seven innings, scattering three hits and fanning 12.
“Hunter threw a great game for us and filled up the strike-zone all day,” Tesensky said.
“I was really happy to see the boys respond the way they did on Saturday. Luke had a huge day at the plate, and hit the ball hard to every spot on the field,” Tesensky said. “It was a great bounce-back win after a frustrating Friday night and a total team victory,” Tesensky said.
The victory put the Lions at 4-3 (3-1 in the Tri-River Conference) for the season.

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Mount Vernon’s Nolan Jackson slides into second base during the Mount Vernon vs. Lisbon baseball game.