Juniors lead Lisbon baseball into postseason

LISBON - Don't confuse young with inexperienced when it comes to the Lisbon baseball team.

A group of seasoned juniors have taken the reins of a talented squad, looking for a long postseason run.

Lisbon will host Bellevue Marquette in an Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 1A District 9 quarterfinal Tuesday, beginning at 7 p.m. Action will start with a quarterfinal game between Springville (17-12) and Highland (17-13) at 5 p.m.

The lineup doesn't include a senior and the roster has some underclassmen, including a few eighth-graders, to support the juniors.

'They have definitely had a lot of experience the last few years,” Lisbon Coach Ryan Stensland said. 'That group will look to help lead us in the postseason.”

The Lions (26-11) opened the season slowly, going 4-5 in their first nine games. They had some starters who were members of a state golf team in late May. Lisbon rebounded and finished second to 2A 10th-ranked Alburnett in the Tri-Rivers Conference. The Lions enter the postseason, winning 10 of its last 12 games.

'We just needed to get our feet under us,” Stensland said. 'We needed to get everybody to practice. We've had a couple of injuries along the way. A key for us is to get everyone healthy and what we thought would be our original lineup on the field every night.”

Stensland praised the Lions for their flexibility and team-first attitude when they missed starters. He also said they embraced a tough regular-season schedule, facing ranked teams from 1A and 2A and even 3A programs. The Lions are battle-tested and confident.

'We felt we had a group of guys that could go out and we wanted to challenge them on a nightly basis,” Stensland said. 'Hopefully, it will pay some dividends in the postseason.”

The Lions have solid pitching led by Connor Woodward (7-4), Colton Krob (5-1) and Ryan Kortemeyer (6-4). All three have earned-run averages under 3.00.

Lisbon hits .358 as a team. Brock Givens leads the way at .453. Keegan Tritle and Woodward hit .436 and .415, respectively. Tritle has nine of the Lions' 14 home runs.

A balanced performance will be vital for a competitive district that includes many TRC teams.

'We know we have to play some good ball to get through it,” Stensland said. 'We are also confident that we have a good team that can do it.”

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