LISBON — Twenty outs came with staggering ease to the Lisbon baseball team Wednesday afternoon.

It’s the elusive 21st one that bit the Greyhounds. Bit them repeatedly, at the end of the third inning, leading to Winthrop’s improbable six-run outburst in a 6-2 MVC victory at Doughty Diamond.

Winthrop didn’t even make contact the first two innings, with Greyhounds junior right-hander Ryan Riordan racking up six straight strikeouts. When Dakota Carter grounded out and Connor Doyle whiffed, the third frame didn’t start much differently.

But then Zach Steele looked at a 3-2 offering for ball four, and Lisbon’s stress level suddenly soared.

“I thought (Riordan) was a different pitcher when there was a runner on,” Winthrop coach Marc Fortin said. “He didn’t quite have the command that he had from the wind-up.”

Another walk to Jared Hanson brought up Drew Stratton. Fortin called for a bunt, which Stratton placed perfectly in Mother Nature’s well-watered grass to load the bases.

“It was a great bunt. It was phenomenal,” Lisbon coach Randy Ridley said. “Before I could say something, boom, there it went. It was a great call in that situation with your three, four and five hitters coming up. Those guys are ready to go.”

Yet another full count produced yet another walk, this one by Tyler Reeve, to push across the Ramblers’ first run.

Tyler Foster followed with a seeing-eye single that skipped under Riordan and second baseman Kyle Priddle’s gloves into center field, scoring two. Reeve then raced home on an errant throw to third.

Ben Allen walked before a Mario Meucci grounder led to another Lisbon throwaway and two additional runs.

Winthrop (6-3) sent 10 men to the plate in the bizarre sequence.

Stratton’s single through the box to open the fifth inning was the Ramblers’ only other hit against Riordan, who struck out 11.

“When things get going the wrong way they just snowball. That is a huge hole for us to try and get out of,” Ridley said. “We have to play good defense every single game and not give teams outs. Walks are just like giving a team an extra out.”

Given the way Reeve pitched for Winthrop, 6-0 was essentially an insurmountable cushion.

Reeve also allowed only three hits. The senior right-hander struck out nine and walked three.

“It took me a little while to get used to this mound. It was a lot different than the mounds I’m used to,” Reeve said. “Most of the time I stuck with my fastball and I threw a couple of curveballs.”

Lisbon (4-6) went hitless until the fourth. Dalton Dunphy’s one-out double and a passed ball set up Brandon Hovey’s sacrifice fly.

Winthrop’s middle infield of Steele and Hanson triggered an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

Back-to-back singles by Mason Smith and Jo Osmond ignited the Greyhounds’ sixth. Those two executed a double steal, and Smith eventually scored on a wild pitch.

Reeve slammed the door with a popout, a strikeout and a groundout.

“He pitched very well,” Fortin said. “We thought it was going to be a one-run game the way (Riordan) struck out six in a row to start.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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