Lisbon’s ‘whole different team’ is on the brink of a 7th straight state softball berth

LISBON — Conventional wisdom would call this a transition season for the Lisbon softball program. A mere bridge year connecting a proud past and a promising future.

Conventional wisdom might not be so wise, after all.

The eighth-ranked Lions broke it open with three runs in the fourth inning, four in the fifth, four in the sixth. That transformed a 1-1 deadlock into a 12-1 run-rule victory over No. 15 Jesup in a Class 2A regional semifinal Friday night at Bob Bunting Field.

“We came into this season, we lost six seniors from last year,” senior Addi Petersen said. “Everybody thought this was going to be a whole different team, and we wanted to prove them wrong.”

It is a “whole different team.” In addition to the roster turnover, the Lions (26-12) have a new coach in Abbey Shultz, who succeeded Bob Bunting upon the latter’s retirement after a success-laden 54-year career.

“Whole different” doesn’t mean inferior.

The Lions advanced to Monday’s regional final; they’ll host Osage (23-9). And if they win that, it will mark a seventh consecutive state-tournament appearance.

  Buy Photo

“We’ve been training all year for this moment,” said Shultz, a Minnesota native and a former player at Luther College. “We’ve done a lot of mechanics — see the ball, hit the ball.”

They saw it Friday, and they hit it hard.

Lisbon collected 13 hits. The 13th was a three-run home run by Alexa Roos, which sent everybody home an inning early.

“We trusted God that we would get good pitches to hit, and we trusted the process,” said leadoff hitter Addie Clark, who drove in three runs.

Petersen added a pair of singles and a two-run double before the J-Hawks (25-9) had seen enough of her and granted her an intentional walk in the fifth inning.

For a while, it appeared Lisbon had squandered an opportunity for a big first inning. The Lions led 1-0 on Kamryn Kahl’s infield-single RBI, and had the bases loaded with no outs, but scored no more.

Morgan Krall’s leadoff home run tied it for Jesup in the top of the second, and it stayed 1-1 until the bottom of the fourth.

Again, the Lions got the first three batters aboard, but this time they delivered. Clark’s sacrifice fly plated a run, then Petersen’s two-run double made it 4-1.

Clark’s two-run single extended it to 8-1 in the fifth, then Roos’ blast ended it in the sixth.

Krall’s homer was all that Lisbon eighth-grade pitcher Kyla Kahl (20-7) allowed. She yielded five hits, and induced a pop-up with the bases loaded in the fourth and the game still tied, 1-1.

Lisbon 12, Jesup 1

Class 2A Regional Final, at Lisbon

Jesup 010 000 — 1 5 2

Lisbon 100 344 — 12 13 0

Scout Kohagen, Daley Donlea (6) and Hayden Kresser. Kyla Kahl and Emma Dietsch. W — Kahl (20-7). L — Kohagen (15-7). HR — Jesup: Morgan Krall (3), Lisbon: Alexa Roos (4).

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com