Lisbon won its regional championship and a state berth by downing Highland 8-6 Tuesday, July 13. The top-seeded Lions looked primed for a decisive win after taking a 3-0 lead after the first two innings, but the Huskies rallied to turn the match into a battle.
“A little too much of a battle for our liking,” Lisbon’s Stacia Hall said. “But it was really, really fun.”
Peyton Robinson got the Lions on the scoreboard first, leading off the bottom of the first inning with a double and then scoring on Mia Petersen’s pop fly. The Lions added 2 runs in the second inning. Ryleigh Allgood reached with a hard hit ball to second and pinch runner Gabi Moehlman took it from there, stealing second, taking third on a passed ball and scoring on Kali Nelson’s RBI single. Blair Baltes tripled to right to score Nelson.
Lisbon was then momentarily derailed. Highland replaced its pitcher, throwing off the offense. The defense started making uncharacteristic mistakes. Highland scored a run in the third and then 4 runs in the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. Only one of the Huskies 6 runs was earned.
“We were feeling pretty good at first, especially when we scored in the first two innings,” Hall said. “When they hit us back, we were calm, but then we started making some mistakes.
“But we picked it back up,” she added. “We always say when someone doesn’t get a hit, when someone doesn’t feel that well, someone else will pick them up. That’s exactly what we did tonight.”
Allgood began the process with a single in the bottom of the fourth, brought home again by Blair Baltes RBI single. Then catcher Taylor Techau delivered the big blow, a 2-run home run that gave Lisbon the lead. It was Techau’s first home run of the year. Word in the press box was Techau was due, perhaps, when she stepped in the batter’s box.
Techau’s mindset at the plate was: see the ball, hit the ball. Nothing else.
“I didn’t want too much in my head,” she said.
Techau knew she made good contact, but didn’t know it was over the fence — near Lisbon’s state championship sign — until getting to first.
Then she could relax and run the rest of the bases.
The rest of the team followed suit for the most part, settling in to finish off the victory. Highland scored another run in the fifth, but Lisbon responded with a runs in the next two innings. Hall singled and scored in the fifth and had an RBI triple in the sixth.
Allgood slammed the door by sending the Huskies down in order in the sixth and seventh innings. For the game, she allowed five hits, struck out six batters, walked two and hit one. She was 2-for-3 at the plate. Moehlman scored two runs and stole three bases running for Allgood.
The victory sent Lisbon to its state tournament game Monday, the Lions fourth straight and 10th overall. The continued postseason run means more team bonding, an integral part of the Lions’ success, Hall said.
“That time just helps so much,” Hall said. “That makes our team not just a team, but a family.”
Highland 001 410 0 — 6 5 1
Lisbon 120 311 x — 8 9 3