AUBURN — It pays for pitchers to have short memories.

Lisbon freshman Tyler Halls got lit up by Monmouth in his last start. Although there’s no shame in giving up six runs in three innings to the top team in the Western C Heals, he had more than enough incentive to forget that nightmare and focus on his next start, against perennial Class C power St. Dom’s on Wednesday.

Halls locked in on the corners of the strike zone, mixing up his fastball and tumbling curve to hold the Saints hitless through the first five innings. The southpaw couldn’t quite keep up the pace, finding trouble in the seventh. But after a two-out assist from Kyle Bourget, he’d pitched the Greyhounds to their biggest win of the season, 3-1.

“I don’t know. I guess I prepared better for this game,” Halls said. “My arm felt better.”

Before Bourget put the fire out with a pop out to second base and strikeout, Halls allowed three  hits, walked three and struck out six. He tired in the seventh, departing after a bases-loaded walk to Andrew Marcous got St. Dom’s on the board.

“Seeing him behind the plate, he was hitting his spots a lot better,” Lisbon catcher Tucker Brannon said. “His curve ball (and) breaking balls were working. You could tell he was just throwing a lot more confidently.”

“You could tell he was rested, for one,” Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said. “And you could tell he was ready to play. I haven’t seen him pitch like this since our rain-shortened Winthrop game (a 6-3 Lisbon win). He was on. I’m just amazed that a freshman can come out against a great team like St. Dom’s and just shut them down.”

St. Dom’s (11-3) lefty starter Mitch Lorenz ( 7 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 2 K, 3 BB, two intentional) matched Halls zero for zero in the run column through the first five innings. Not that the Greyhounds (10-5) didn’t have their chances, stranding eight base runners.

“I thought Mitch kept us in the game,” St. Dom’s coach Bob Blackman said. “Our defense didn’t help us at times. We made enough plays.”

Lisbon broke the scoreless tie in the sixth when, with two outs and runners at first and third, Ryley Austin hit a ground ball to short. Caleb Dostie ranged to his right and fielded it, then  got his feet tangled up trying to set himself for the throw to first and fell. Pinch runner Troy Galarneau scored from third.

The Greyhounds added two big insurance runs in the seventh on RBI singles by Brett Gravel and Darren Ward.

Halls faced the minimum through the first five innings, surrendering only a one-out walk in the second that Brannon promptly erased on a steal attempt.

“We acted like we’d never seen a left-hander and never seen a left-handed breaking ball,” Blackman said. “We did the same thing against (Winthrop pitcher Ben) Allen last year, same exact type of pitcher, and our approach was the same. He threw enough strikes that the guys just couldn’t sit on a pitch, and we got behind in the count just way too often.”

Ray Mosca finally broke up the no-hitter with a clean single to center to start the sixth.

“It would have been great to get it, but my team was making a lot of plays. They helped me out there,” said Halls, whose team played errorless defense behind him.

Mosca, representing the tying run at the time, stole second, but Halls fanned the next two batters, then ended the inning by fielding a tapper to the right side and underhanding it to first.

Halls, Gravel, Austin and R.J. Sargent had two hits apiece for Lisbon.

“This is a big win,” said Brannon, whose team has another big game Thursday when it hosts two-time defending champion Dirigo. “We’re getting a running start into the playoffs, especially coming off the doubleheader Monmouth losses and the tough game (Monday’s 4-1 loss) against Mountain Valley.”

“We’ve been under the radar a little bit, but teams know about us,” Ridley said. “We’re a quality club. We have our hiccups because we’re still young. I only have two seniors and I start three freshmen. And they handled a pressure-packed, playoff atmosphere game very well today.”