It was heat check time for the sixth-ranked (2A) Lisbon softball team.
The Lions have been hot this season, a Top 10 team in Class 2A. On Monday, June 10, the Lions split with No. 4 Alburnett, losing 5-3 and winning 9-8, at Lisbon.
The Pirates broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the top of the fifth inning in the opener. Addi Petersen led the Lion offense with a double and a single. Addie Clark, Chloe Clausen and Sarah Dietsch also smacked doubles.
In the nightcap, the Lions got a three-run home run by Dietsch in the bottom of the seventh inning to walk it off.
“It was a good way to end a game like that,” Lisbon coach Abbey Shultz said.
At the plate, Lisbon had 11 hits. Petersen was 3-for-3 and Dietsch had a second HR. Alexa Roos had two doubles and Brianna Turkington had two singles. Kamryn Kahl had a triple.
It was a well-earned split, but Shultz said they could have had more.
“The little errors, they turn into big-time errors,” Shultz said. “One bad inning hurt us. If we are going to have some oopsies, then we’ve got to bat through them.”
Then on Friday, June 14, No. 6 Lisbon dropped a game to No. 2 Northeast, 10-0, in five innings at Goose Lake. Rebel pitcher Madison Kluever limited the Lions to three hits and zero walks, striking out seven.
Roos had two hits.
Shultz said it was a bit of a wake up call for the Lions.
“If we want to go to state, if we want to play with the ‘big dogs,’ that’s where we’ve got to be,” Shultz said. “They had a great pitcher and great hitters, one through nine. They are well-trained and veteran. It fun to see where we could be against a team like that.”
In-between those showdowns, Lisbon beat Anamosa on Wednesday, June 12, 8-0, at Bunting Field, and took a pair from Starmont on Thursday, June 13, 11-1 and 22-4, in Arlington.
Against the Blue Raiders, the Lions mashed 16 hits, with Chloe Clausen leading the way with three. Petersen hit a home run, Kyla Kahl hit a triple and Kaitlynn Hasselbusch and Brianna Turkington each hit doubles.
Against the Star, Lisbon exploded for 12 runs in the top of the seventh inning in Game 2.
“We need to do that instead in the first five innings,” Shultz said.