Carrabec’s Ashley Cates connects with the ball during Wednesday afternoon’s Class C South quarterfinal softball game in Lisbon. Carrabec’s Mackenzie Baker gets a lead at second base as Lisbon’s Kiley Merritt, gets ready for the ball. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

LISBON — Lisbon hadn’t dwelt on its predicament while clawing back from a 6-1 deficit in Wednesday’s Class C South softball quarterfinal, so Carly Drischler saw no point in dragging it out any longer once the Greyhounds had tied the game.

Drischler ripped the first pitch she saw into center field for a two-out single that scored Joanna Turner from second with the winning run in third-seeded Lisbon’s walk-off 8-7 win over No. 6 Carrabec.

“We didn’t really think about (the deficit), like that last at-bat,” Drischler said. “Sometimes it gets to me. I just didn’t think about it. I usually go after the first pitch. It felt good coming off the bat.”

“It’s kind of the story of our life this season,” Lisbon coach Terri Tlumac said. “We’ve gotten ourselves into some pickles like this where we’re down by a good chunk of runs and the girls have stayed steadfast and pecked away and gotten the job done.”

The Greyhounds advance to the semifinals to face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 2 Sacopee Valley and No. 7 Traip.

Aggressive base running by Turner, who was aboard after drawing a one-out walk, set up Drischler’s heroics. Turner tagged up and took second on Brittany Norman’s fly ball to left to get into scoring position.

Carrabec (10-7), which had lost to Lisbon (13-4) in both of the teams’ regular-season meetings, never trailed until the game’s final swing. The Cobras led 2-1 after one inning, then added two runs each in the third and fourth to take the 6-1 lead.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game because it’s hard to beat a team three times, especially when they’re all close,” said Drischler, whose team had won the previous meetings, 7-2 and 6-5. “We definitely knew it was going to be a challenge and we got a little down. We had a couple of bad innings, but we definitely picked it up.”

“In a game like this, you have to be fundamentally sound, and we weren’t today,” Tlumac said. “A lot of (Carrabec’s) runs today — not that they didn’t hit the ball well — was our mental errors.”

The Greyhounds started to pick things up in the fourth, with the help of back-to-back errors by the Cobras to start the rally. Abby Miner crushed a double to straightaway center to make it 6-2. Ivy Morris’ ground-out scored Kiley Merritt from third and Drischler blooped an infield single between shortstop and third to score Miner to pull Lisbon within 6-4.

Cheyenne Sirois gave the Cobras another insurance run with an RBI triple in the fifth. But Lisbon came roaring back with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to tie it. Turner’s leadoff double was the only hit of the tying rally, which was fueled by a hit batter and an error.

Miner kept the Cobras at bay over the final two-plus innings, retiring seven of the final eight batters. Credit catcher Giana Russo, who threw out Bailey Dunphy attempting to steal second with none out in the seventh, and center fielder Morris, who made a fine running catch to rob Sam LeBeau of a hit moments later, helping to preserve the tie.

“We got seven (runs) across against Abby. Seven should be enough every single time,” Carrabec coach Heath Cowan said. “They hit the ball, had one more ball fall in and made one more play than we did.”

LeBeau led the Cobras with two hits, including a triple. Drischler had two hits to lead the Greyhounds.

Carrabec catcher Bailey Dunphy sits at the ready as Lisbon’s Ivy Morris hits the ball and drives in the tying run during Wednesday’s C South softball quarterfinal. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

Lisbon’s Joanna Turner sprints for home for the game-winning run in the seventh inning of Wednesday afternoon’s Class C South quarterfinal softball game in Lisbon. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

Lisbon’s softball team celebrates after winning Wednesday’s game. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

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