LISBON – For nearly 90 minutes, the Lisbon and Wiscasset baseball teams anxiously waited in their dugouts, hoping the lightning that halted play in the top of the first inning might pass.

Then in the top of the fourth, another even more ominous squall approached the field. But, this time Mother Nature parted the clouds, with only a few drops of rain coming down.

As darkness fell, Lisbon’s Darren Ward turned on a Conlon Ranta pitch, sending the ball into the darkening sky for a lead-off double in the seventh. Four pitches later, Ryley Austin singled to center, and when the ball scooted past a Wiscasset outfielder, the Greyhounds had finished off a come-from-behind, walk-off 8-7 win.

Lisbon, which trailed 6-1 and 7-2, improved to 12-3, with a visit to Mountain Valley slated for Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The Wolverines fell to 5-10 and host Oak Hill on Monday, also a 4:30 p.m. start.

Ward was the hero on this day for the hosts. He was 3-for-3 at the plate, and the one time he didn’t get a hit turned out to be a big play during a Lisbon four-run fifth frame against Wiscasset starting pitcher Tyler Bailey to get the Greyhounds to 7-6. Ward’s sacrifice bunt was thrown into left field, allowing Noah Francis to score the sixth Lisbon run. One inning later, Tyler Halls, who scored four times, walked, stole two of his four bases and came home when he beat a Wiscasset throw to the plate on a ground ball by Kyle Bourget, who drove in three runs.

“This game had everything,” said Lisbon coach Randy Ridley. “We were down, struggling, and we gave them so many runs. They capitalized on our mistakes. We did not play our best, but Bailey got tired and we made him throw strikes. That big inning got us to within one, and we stuck with it and grinded it out.”

“We stopped scoring runs, and when you do that against a team like that it comes back to bite you,” said Wiscasset coach Mike Bowles. “Tyler got into a little bit a lull, and they hit him hard. It is a tough to lose this way, being so close to winning. But, that’s baseball.”

Early mistakes

Before the lightning, Wiscasset darted out to a 3-0 first-inning lead thanks to a pair of Lisbon miscues. Grant Hefler and Ranta singled to open the inning, and both moved up a base on a Bourget wild pitch. Matt Craig hit a high chopper to third base, with the throw heading toward the plate. The ball glanced off Hefler’s helmet and into the Wiscasset dugout, allowing both Hefler and Ranta to score. A throwing error later in the frame allowed Craig to come home.

After the delay, Halls doubled to begin the Lisbon first. A sacrifice bunt by RJ Sargent and a wild pitch put the Greyhounds on the board.

A third Lisbon error plated Hefler in the second, and the Wolverines tacked on two more runs on a two-run single by Ron Drake in the third for a 6-1 lead. Halls made a superb diving catch on a sinking line drive by Daren Wood in the fourth, but Brycson Grover tagged up to score on the play to make for a 7-2 contest.

From there, Bourget seemed to get stronger, He held the Wolverines scoreless over the final three frames, finishing with 13 strikeouts, five walks and throwing 139 pitches.

“Kyle got better, and I know he was tired, but he did his job and we needed the win,” said Ridley.

Lisbon got to Bailey for four in the fifth. Halls and Sargent walked, and Bourget launched a two-run triple to the right-center field gap. Noah Francis reached out and dropped an RBI single to center, and scored later in the frame to get the Greyhounds to 7-6.

Bourget escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, and Francis picked his second RBI as Halls trotted home to tie the game, setting the stage for Ward.

“We had to stay focused during the rain delay, and we were a little bit off-balanced today,” said Ward. “We were able to get some men on and push some runners along.”

“I am so happy for Darren because this was our ‘Senior Day,’ and he came through today,” said Ridley.

Bailey pitched four-plus innings with five strikeouts and five walks. He allowed six runs, five earned, on 95 pitches. Ranta, who pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fifth, suffered the loss with two strikeouts and one walk. Ranta had a 3-for-4 afternoon at the plate, with Hefler adding two singles.