Lenexa ? So much for the monkey on Dorian Green’s back.

“I guess the third time’s the charm,” Green said with a smile.

A senior right-hander, Green had been the losing pitcher when Lawrence High bowed in the semifinals of the Class 6A state baseball tournament in both 2007 and 2008.

Not this time.

Green tossed a two-hitter, fanning seven, as the Lions toppled top-seeded Goddard, 4-1, in Saturday morning’s semifinal at Johnson County 3&2 Complex.

“Two hits is pretty spectacular at this stage,” Lions’ catcher Jake Green said. “But that’s something we’ve expected from him all year.”

Lawrence grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Tanner Kilmer singled and scored on Aaron Rea’s triple. The Lions added three more in the fourth on five singles and a hit batter.

As it turned out, those three runs were all Green needed. Through the first five innings, he was in trouble just once.

With two outs in the second, Goddard had runners on second and third after a walk and Taylor Douglas’s double to right-center, but Green fanned Mike Sage to end the threat.

In the sixth, Green walked leadoff hitter Nathan Hyson, then balked him to second base. Hyson moved to third on a groundout and, moments later, scored on Levi Meyer’s line single to left.

Green retired the side in order in the seventh to send the Lions into Saturday evening’s championship game.

“His fastball has always been high-velocity,” Jake Green said of Dorian Green, who is no relation, “and he has a good curve. Today he had good command of it.”

Lawrence High coach Brad Stoll stressed after Friday’s 17-0 romp over Blue Valley he would bet his house that Green would turn in a strong mound performance Saturday.

That vow turned out to be, of course, a safe bet.

“Everybody in the Lawrence High family knew what he would do,” Stoll said. “There was no way he would be denied a third time, especially since it was the last time he’ll ever pitch.”