For Lisbon senior Carew Kamaus, the origins of his pitching career are humble, to say the least.
“I started pitching my sophomore year because we were bad, and we just needed somebody to eat up innings,” Kamaus said. “I just stepped in.
“It was interesting. I liked it.”
Kamaus has developed alongside the program, and was set to take the ball in the district opener for the Lions.
That game was set for Friday, July 3, against North Cedar at Delhi, but it got rained out. It was moved to Monday, July 6, back in Delhi.
Lisbon baseball starts the postseason after a 17-9 season. That includes 13-6 in the Tri-Rivers East, good for second place.
It marks another big step for the Lions, who were 11-15 in 2025, and 5-24 in 2024.
On the mound, Kamaus is 6-0 this season with a 1.21 ERA. He has 32 strikeouts and 11 walks over 29 innings pitched.
“And he’s tough,” coach Lance Kamaus said. “He’s pitched through some things this year. At Ed-Co, he couldn’t feel his hand.”
Kamaus isn’t a fireballer. But he throws hard, and knows how to spin it.
“He has confidence, and that’s the biggest thing,” Coach Kamaus said. “He just has that mentality he is going to throw strikes and I’m not going to give you anything free.”
“I just throw strikes, at least that’s what I try to do,” Kamaus said. “And our defense has just gotten a lot better.”
Kamaus was a catcher when he first started pitching, so he knows what the umpires like. And one thing they like is a pitcher who works fast.
“Sometimes umpires tell him he works too fast,” Coach Kamaus said. “He throws a ton of strikes. He throws two different types of curveball, and throws hard enough to give batters problems.”
The Lions haven’t won a district game since Kamaus has played varsity. That’s something they are definitely chasing to put a bow on the season.
“We’re just focused on going 1-0 now,” Kamaus said. “I definitely think we could go on a run, too.”
The Lions closed the regular season with a pair of wins last week.
On Tuesday, June 30, they won at Maquoketa Valley, 12-0.
Bryce Boots gave up three hits and struck out eight over seven innings.
“That was the best start he’s had in high school,” Coach Kamaus said. “The first legit base hit to the outfield was with two outs in the seventh. He was really, really good.”
Ian Whittenbaugh led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run and 5 RBIs. Nathan Brown hit 3-for-4 with a double and 4 RBIs, Boots was 2-for-4 with a double, and Kamaus hit 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.
Then on Wednesday, July 1, Lisbon beat Lone Tree at City Park, 19-2.
Lisbon used four pitchers and offensively had 13 hits. Boots hit 3-for-3 with a triple and 4 RBIs. Tyler Kubovec hit 2-for-3 with a double, and Ethan Stone and Elliott Moehlman each had two singles.
Two other final-week games were canceled by opponents.