It was an up and down week for the Lisbon Lions baseball team, as they added four losses and two wins to their record. The Lions dropped a match to Maquoketa Valley, a doubleheader at Anamosa and a close match with Northeast. They won a doubleheader against Midland, pouring in a combined 36 runs in those two victories.
The Lions had competitions against Starmont Monday and MFLMarMac Wednesday this week. and face off against Columbus at home Saturday.
Maquoketa Valley over Lisbon 7-5
The Lions and the Wildcats both put up runs in the first inning at Lisbon City Park Monday, June 28, and Lisbon added two more in the second. Maquoketa Valley matched them in the bottom of the third, and the teams were tied at three until the fourth inning, when the Wildcats posted two more runs to take a 5-3 lead.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the seventh and final inning, with Maquoketa Valley winning it 7-5.
Landon Stolte and Kaden Caspers, each sophomores, had productive games, despite the loss. Stolte had two hits — both of them doubles. He also sent a teammate home to score. Caspers also batted a teammate in, and scored twice himself with one hit.
Tyler Scott, a junior, pitched five innings and struck out two.
Maquoketa Valley’s Preston Roling had three RBIs and stole three bases.
The Wildcats stole 11 bases, while the Lions did not steal any.
Lions drop doubleheader at Anamosa
Anamosa over Lisbon 16-11
The first game with Anamosa Tuesday, June 29, was a high-scoring one for both teams. The Blue Raiders got the ball rolling with a run in the first inning. The Lions then scored two runs at the top of the second to take a brief 2-1 lead, but the Blue Raiders responded with four runs in the bottom of the same inning to take a 5-2 lead going into the third inning.
In the third, the Lions scored three runs to tie it up, but the Blue Raiders again doubled their opponents’ output, scoring six runs in the bottom of the third to go up 11-5.
Neither team scored in the fourth, but in the fifth inning, the Lions added two more runs to their score to cut the lead down to 11-7.
The Blue Raiders again responded with three runs of their own, expanding their lead to 14-7 at the end of the fifth.
Anamosa expanded on their lead in the bottom of the sixth after holding the visiting team scoreless, scoring two runs and assuming a 16-7 edge.
The Lions came up with four big runs in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Anamosa’s offense, and they lost 16-11.
Sophomore Luke Czarnecki had two hits, which including a double. Czarnecki crossed home plate twice for two runs.
Fellow sophomore Alex Bock had one hit that sent two of his teammates home.
Anamosa wins 11-4
The Lions scored three runs in the first inning of their second game with the Anamosa Blue Raiders, but the home team turned around and scored four runs of their own at the bottom of the same inning to assume a 4-3 lead.
The Blue Raiders struck next in the bottom of the third to widen their lead to 5-3.
The Lions scored a run in the top of the fourth to make it 5-4, but Anamosa piled on six runs to make it 11-4, which ended up being the final score.
Czarnecki’s only hit was a big one — a double that scored three of his teammates.
Stolte had two hits, and scored one run himself. On the mound, the sophomore threw two innings and struck out three.
The Blue Raiders have a 4-3 edge over the Lions dating back to 2009.
Lions win doubleheader at Midland Eagles Lions win 23-5
While Lisbon leapt out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning, it wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Lions truly pulled away from their competition on the Midland Eagles’ home turf on Thursday, July 1.
The visiting Lions team had a sizable 13-4 lead going into the sixth, when they exploded with 10 runs to cement the victory.
The Eagles did respond with one run in the bottom of the sixth, but it wouldn’t be enough, with the Lions coming out on top 23-5.
Junior Tyson Scott had three hits in the victory, leading to four RBIs and scoring twice himself.
Sophomore Alex Bock had a single hit that led to four RBIs and three trips across the plate.
Fellow sophomore Hunter Clark pitched five and two-thirds innings, striking out 10.
Lions take it 13-3
The two teams sparred a little more evenly in the second game, tying up at three apiece after the first. Once again, the Lions saved their most runs for the sixth inning, sending home four runs while they already enjoyed a 9-3 advantage to form the final score of 13-3.
Bock was again crucial with three hits and four RBIs.
Tyson Scott pitched six innings, fanning nine.
The Lions put together 13 hits in the win, while the Eagles had just three.
Rebels over Lions 6-5Lisbon traveled to take on the Northeast Rebels in a back-and-forth contest Friday, July 2, that was their closest game all week.
The Lions would score first, with one run at the top of the first inning, but the Rebels would score last, with one run in the bottom of the extra eighth inning to take the 6-5 win.
The Rebels are 8-7 over the Lions dating back to 2009.