WINTHROP — Lisbon appeared headed for a big day at the plate based on its first inning against Winthrop junior Jared Hanson.

The Greyhounds opened the game with a walk, a double and sacrifice fly. But they didn’t do much once Hanson found his comfort zone. He held them to two hits over the final six innings as the Ramblers posted a 9-1 win.

“First innings always kill me,” Hanson said. “I don’t know why. It’s just getting the nerves out I guess, then settle down and start throwing strikes.”

The right-hander ran his record to 2-0, finishing his 96-pitch effort with three walks and four strikeouts.

“He seemed to loosen up,” Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said. “He didn’t throw that hard in the first inning, then he got a little more velocity and started using his curveball a little more.”

The Ramblers took the lead with two runs in the second inning, scoring the first run on a balk from Lisbon starter Brandon Hovey and the second on Drew Stratton’s infield hit. They finished with six hits, led by Hanson who doubled and singled, but many of their runs were the result of Lisbon walks (six) and errors (four).

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“That’s kind of been the story of our season,” said Ridley, whose Greyhounds are 2-4. “We give a team a few extra outs and they take advantage.”

Winthrop coach Marc Fortin is cautiously optimistic about his 3-0 Ramblers, who have just one senior on the roster.

“We certainly haven’t seen the cream of the crop yet,” Fortin said.

The Ramblers host defending Class C state champion Dirigo on Friday and will have a better gauge of their progress. But so far, so good.

“We’ve all grown up playing baseball together,” Hanson said. “We know each other really well and we work together really well.”

The Ramblers broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the sixth. Hanson and Dakota Carter had the only two hits in the inning, each driving in a run.

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The defense played well behind Hanson, who escaped a jam in the second inning when Stratton made a shoestring catch of Austin Fournier’s line drive to center field and doubled a runner off first base.

“These guys have been playing baseball a long time together,” Fortin said. “These guys really love to play baseball.”

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com


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