LISBON – Lisbon High School’s senior-dominated baseball lineup made a habit of two-out, bases-loaded hits in close games this spring.

The Greyhounds weren’t usually the team down by a run, though. Nor were they staring out at Greely, state champion two of the last three years.

Dan O’Brion pitched out of peril Friday like someone who knew his team was the favorite, coaxing Andy Tupper into a fly ball to escape the sixth-inning jam with a one-run lead.

Then after the No. 5 Rangers chased Lisbon ace Frank Angelico with three runs in the seventh, O’Brion struck out the side to cement a four-hit shutout and a 4-0 Western Class B quarterfinal victory over the No. 4 Greyhounds.

“We tried to go about (the game) like we didn’t know them at all,” said O’Brion.

Easier said by Greely (11-6) than done by Lisbon (13-4).

The Rangers had history and a brutal Class B Western Maine Conference schedule in their corner. O’Brien, who also started the game by whiffing the side in order and rang up 11 in all, absorbed his only two losses against No. 1 Cape Elizabeth.

Greely earned another crack at the Capers in Saturday’s semifinals.

“We got people on base. We just didn’t get the key hit,” said Lisbon coach Randy Ridley. “We’ve gotten that hit all season. O’Brion pitched a hell of a game.”

Lisbon entered as the underdog despite its higher ranking.

The Greyhounds finished second in the southern division of the predominantly Class C Mountain Valley Conference. They haven’t won a quarterfinal in recent memory, struggling against the likes of Maranacook, Gorham and Cape.

It also didn’t help that they were forced to play catch-up after Greely plated a run in peculiar fashion.

Ben Walsh, Mark Dominick and Ben Russell started the second inning with consecutive singles. Luke Booth then hit a chopper to first base, and Tupper threw home to Chris Whitney for the force out.

Believing he had fouled the ball off his foot, Booth didn’t run to first. As Angelico covered the bag, corraled the throw from Whitney and completed the double play, Dominick hustled across the plate.

Angelico magnified Greely’s mostly missed opportunity by stranding seven more runners between the third and sixth innings. Five of those Rangers stalled in scoring position.

The senior right-hander fanned Walsh to end the third, O’Brion to halt the fourth and pinch hitters Brad McKenney and Jake Whiting-Kooy consecutively to squirm out of the sixth.

“We hadn’t seen him at all, but I was very impressed with how Angelico battled,” Greely coach Derek Soule said. “His fastball and change-up away kept us off-balance.”

O’Brion retired the first six Greyhounds, four on strikes, before Lisbon chipped away with one hit in each of the next four innings.

Lisbon didn’t push a runner to third base until the sixth. Marcus Bubar singled and Angelico and Mike Degou drew O’Brion’s only two walks to set the table for Tupper.

“I just tried to bear down. Petey (Stauber), my catcher, just kept saying, ‘calm down, calm down.’ He did a great job,” O’Brion said. “The seventh inning was pretty much adrenaline.”

Stauber and Ben Shain singled to start the seventh and chase Angelico. Matt Labbe greeted Alex Hall with a single. Walsh drew a bases-loaded walk in front of Dominick’s two-run single.

Tupper and Degou turned Lisbon’s second double play of the afternoon to avoid further damage.

Hall, Whitney and Ryan Riordan joined Bubar with hits for the Greyhounds. Bubar, Angelico, Hall, Tupper, Whitney and Scott Eck each played their final game for Lisbon.

“Marcus and Frank played four years, Alex and Scott three. It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Ridley said. “I’m sure it will as soon as I don’t see them around anymore and realize that it’s time to think about trying to put together a team next year.”

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