Some nights at the diamond, things just don’t go your way.
That was the case for Lisbon baseball on Thursday, June 6, as they lost to Maquoketa Valley, 3-1.
“We lost that game more than they won it,” junior Dakota Clark said. “We gave it to them.”
Lisbon has been scuffling early in the season. The Lions are coming off a state tournament season, but said goodbye to a talented – and large — senior class.
Against Maquoketa Valley (8-2) it was a 1-1 tie through five innings. Then the Wildcats plated two in the top of the sixth on an error, a groundout, and two hits.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Lions went walk, walk, walk, single … but didn’t score any runs. Bryce Boots, Ian Whittenbaugh and Luke Robinson were all picked off by MV pitcher Mathew Schaul.
The Lions ran themselves out of a rally in the bottom of the seventh, too. Aiden Jensen led off with a single, but pinch runner Caleb Ross was doubled up at second base when Carew Kamaus popped up a bunt attempt that went directly to the catcher.
“I thought that was probably the play to make,” Lisbon coach Lance Kamaus said of the bunt call. “I’d still do it again if I had to.”
Lisbon was coming off a pair of games Monday against Marquette in which it rallied in the final half-inning to tie the game. They ended up splitting those, both going extra innings.
“It doesn’t help to have that one inning where we had three baserunning errors,” Clark said. “But we’ve also got to come back out in the seventh … I mean we started out with two hits, that picks our energy up, but then, we mess up there again.”
Those mistakes spoiled a pretty good team effort against a top Tri-Rivers club. And wasted a pretty good pitching night from Clark and freshman Ethan Stone. Clark gave up six hits and no walks. Stone gave up one hit and one walk in one and two-thirds of an inning. They combined for seven strikeouts.
“Dakota and Ethan threw really well,” Kamaus said. “I was monitoring the pitch counts of both so they can be available in the future.”
The schedule has been rough, and the Lions have stumbled to a 3-10 record. But Clark sees better things ahead.
“I know we can do it,” Clark said. “We have a really young team. Once people start settling in a little bit. … I know everyone’s standards are a lot higher than how we are performing right now. We’ll put it together. We’re still a little early.
“Our first game (of the season), we looked like a Little League team, I’m not going to lie. But we’ve improved a lot.”
The schedule becomes a little more manageable, as well.
Plus, the Lions are due to get junior Wesley Sadler back.
“He’ll be a valuable addition to our infield, batting order and pitching staff,” Kamaus said.
As mentioned previously, on Monday, June 3, Lisbon beat Marquette (8-3), 5-4, and then lost, 7-4, both in eight innings.
In the win, Luke Robinson had a triple and Whittenbaugh had two hits to pace the offense. Clark got the pitching win in relief of Boots.
“That was probably our best ballgame we’ve played all year,” Clark said. “We put everything together.”
In the second game, the Lions rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Defenders scored three in the top of the eighth inning. The Lions were led by Cole Butteris, who was 2-for-4 with a double. Ethan Hoekstra had a double and two RBIs.
On Tuesday, June 4, Lisbon lost to Regina (9-6), 16-8, in Iowa City. The Lions were outhit 16 to 12. Clark hit 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Whittenbaugh, Jensen and Ethan Hoekstra each had two hits.
The Regals were helped by 12 stolen bases, including four from Alex Paul.
The week was capped off with a 3-2 loss at Anamosa on Friday, June 7. Blue Raider pitchers Miken Wheeler and Carson Vargason combined to limit the Lions to six hits and two runs.
Maquoketa Valley 010 002 0 – 3 7 2
Lisbon 100 000 0 – 1 5 4
Mathew Schaul and Dexter Dietiker; Dakota Clark, Ethan Stone (6) and Carew Kamaus. W – Schaul. L – Clark. 2B – Dylan Knipper (MV). 3B – Dakota Clark (L).
Lisbon baseball lose to Maquoketa Valley
Ryan Suchomel, Sports Reporter
June 13, 2024
About the Contributor
Ryan Suchomel, Sports Reporter
Ryan Suchomel is a sports reporter for the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.