Seniors lead Lisbon back to state baseball tournament

SOLON — There would be no giant slain on this night.

Garwin GMG’s baseball team entered the final night of the regular season with a 7-14 record. After reeling off four straight wins to claim the Class 1A district 7 title, the Wolverines (11-15) sought their first trip to state, but ran into a senior-laden group on a mission in the substate final.

The objective was a third straight trip to the state tournament for the Lisbon Lions. Mission accomplished.

Lisbon rode its senior arm and senior bats to a 7-0 victory Tuesday night. The win marks Lisbon’s 10th trip to state.

“It’s been special,” Lisbon Coach John Tesensky said. “There’s a lot of leadership. I think the experience, when you have guys who are familiar with each other and familiar with the game, you can kind of turn them loose and let them play.”

Of the nine Lisbon seniors, seven saw action as eighth-graders. Those same seven each logged at least 80 at-bats in a sophomore campaign that saw them reach state. They occupied the first seven spots in Tuesday night’s lineup, and now that group will make its way to Carroll in search of their first state tournament win.

“We’ve played together since 8U,” Hunter Clark said. “This is our last year together. We’re trying to stretch it as long as we possibly can. The team camaraderie we’ve built is just insane. It’s second-to-none in the state.

“It’s so much fun playing with these guys.”

Their imprint was all over this one. Hunter Clark issued a lead-off walk. He proceeded to strike out the next six batters he faced on his way to retiring 14 straight batters. A Wyatt Jackson single to right broke up Clark’s no-hitter with two outs in the fifth.

Clark tossed a two-hit, complete game shutout, finishing with 10 strikeouts.

“After that lead-off walk, I felt in control,” Clark said. “I trust my defense when I play. I have a solid, solid defense behind me.”

The Lions (25-4) broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth. Leading 1-0, Lisbon loaded the bases with two outs. Kaden Casper’s infield single scored Landon Stolte. Aiden Jensen followed with a soft grounder between the pitcher and third baseman. Rider Kupka’s throw pulled Brayden Duden off the bag for another run.

The Lions added one more with a passed ball.

The seniors combined for 10 of the Lions’ 11 hits, scoring all seven runs.

All that’s left for this group to check off its list is a win on Monday in Carroll.

“The past two years I feel like we’ve been underdogs,” Clark said. “This year we’re going to come out on top. We need a win this year.”