Late outburst catapults Lisbon past Kingsley-Pierson in Class 1A state baseball semifinal

CARROLL — Cohen Kamaus used his arm, his legs, heart and soul.

He showed every ounce of his guts on the mound for Lisbon Wednesday night. When Kamaus needed some support late, the Lions had his back.

Kamaus pitched a complete game and scored two early runs, Luke Czarnecki and Kaden Caspers drove in runs in the seventh inning and No. 9 Lisbon knocked off No. 2 Kingsley-Pierson, 5-3, in a Class 1A state baseball semifinal game Wednesday night at Merchants Park.

“It’s just a testament to the resolve of the seniors,” Lisbon Coach John Tesensky said. “:They have that experience. No moment is too big for them. They aren’t overcome by the moment neither.”

The Lions advance to the title game for the first time since 2018 and third overall. Lisbon won the 1A crown in 1994.

“It’s exciting,” Lions’ senior Landon Stolte said. “We have a lot of worked to do but we’re really excited.”

Kamaus fielded the pop-up for the final out, closing his complete-game four-hitter and securing a shot at a state championship.

“I saw it go up and I heard (catcher) Hunter (Clark) yell, ‘Yeah,’ right away,” Kamaus said. “I didn’t know what kind of spin it had on it, but once I grabbed it that was the best feeling. We’re going to the ‘ship and all you can ask for is to play for a state title.”

Kamaus (8-0) was limited as a pitcher in past seasons but embraced the challenge to step in as one of the leaders on the mound with the graduation of arms and an early-season injury to ace Clark.

“I knew that I needed to step up,” Kamaus said. “I have to credit the defense. I don’t get a lot of strikeouts and I just let them hit it. Our defense is 10 out 10 every night.”

Tesensky said his mom refers to Kamaus as “Little No. 2” due to his jersey number and his smaller stature as an 8th-grade varsity player. The 5-foot-9, 145-pounder battled as big as anyone, overcoming a slow start to earn the win.

“The way he has gone out and competed has been huge for us,” Tesensky said. “He pitches really well. He doesn’t have the hardest stuff. He doesn’t have the sharpest stuff but he gives us a good effort every time. For him to come out as composed as he did, especially when they score two runs and he gets back to bear down, that’s been indicative of his performance all year.

“I couldn’t be happier for him. He competed his butt off.”

The defense provided a huge boost in the final frame. Kamaus plunked the leadoff batter but induced a groundball from the next batter. Stolte and Dakota Clark turned a 5-4-3 double play that thwarted the rally.

“I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to make that double play at first,” Stolte said. “I was really hoping to make up for my error in the first inning. I’m really glad we were able to get that double play at the end.”

The final rally opened with Hunter Clark’s single to right and Dillon Brayton hit by a pitch. Czarnecki hit a deep flyball to right for a double that scored Clark. Brayton scored on Casper’s sacrifice fly to center.

“We put together some really, really good at-bats, especially in that seventh inning,” Tesensky said. “We got some guys on. We were able to stay within ourselves. Luke got that big hit again.”

Czarnecki had three RBIs in the quarterfinal win over Burlington Notre Dame but the biggest was the game-winner against the Panthers.

“I’ve been trying to stay loose and short,” Czarnecki said about his knack for driving in runs at state. “I’m just happy to come up big for the team as a whole.

“It was a big weight off the shoulders. When Kaden hit the sacrifice fly after it, that really helped.”

Kamaus helped spark the Lions offense in the first. He drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Kamaus raced home on Alex Bock’s single up the middle for a 1-0 lead.

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Photos: Lisbon vs. Kingsley-Pierson in state baseball semifinals

Kingsley-Pierson (28-3) answered with two in its half of the first. Conner Beelner reached on an error to start and moved to third on Emerson Pratt’s base hit. Evan Neumann’s groundout scored Beelner and tied the game. Pratt came in on a Beau Bubke fielder’s choice for a 2-1 lead.

Kamaus contributed to the Lions’ two-run third. He drew another leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Stolte delivered an RBI single and scored on Caspers’ bases-loaded walk. Kamaus led the Lions with two runs.

“As much as I can contribute to the team,” Kamaus said. “I’m stealing bases and getting on with walks. Sometimes it’s not the most fun, but it gets the job done, especially in the playoffs. Got to have guys on to win. We came through at the right time.”

A couple of miscues helped the Panthers knot the game, 3-3, in the bottom of the third. Pratt blooped a double down the left field line. The throw to second skipped into right field, allowing him to move to third with one out. Neumann’s hopper deflected off the pitcher’s glove to the second baseman, who couldn’t get the ball out of his glove to make a play.

Pratt scored the Panthers’ final run.

“I knew as soon as I get settled in our defense will keep making plays,” Kamaus said. “I’d keep pounding the strike zone.”

Lisbon (27-4) will play No. 3 Remsen St. Mary’s (31-2) in the championship game Friday at noon.