photo by: Shane Jackson

Lawrence High junior Ike Cobb fires a pitch during a game against Olathe Northwest in the regional opener at Blue Valley West HS on Friday, May 21, 2021. The Lions lost in the regional championship against top-seeded Blue Valley.

Overland Park — A season-ending shutout couldn’t dampen Lawrence High head coach Brad Stoll’s spirits on Friday at Blue Valley West High School.

Yes, the Lions fell 6-0 to top-seeded Blue Valley in the regional final — one game shy of reaching the Class 6A state tournament. Yes, they only managed two hits in their final game of the year.

But Stoll was still impressed by his team’s approach at the plate — specifically, how the Lions handled Blue Valley star pitcher Carson Liggett, who is signed to play at Louisville next year.

“That kid is going to Louisville for a reason,” Stoll said. “I thought we barreled some balls up. I thought we had a good approach. It is disappointing to get shut out in your last game of the year, but for the most part, I was really pleased.”

LHS, the No. 8 seed in the Class 6A East region, put two runners on in the first inning when senior Jack Stoll worked a one-out walk and senior Cole Mondi was hit by a pitch. Liggett responded by retiring the side in order in the second for the Tigers (20-2).

Lawrence’s first hit of the game came in the third, when senior Devin Neal delivered a base knock to the left. Senior shortstop Carlos Vasquez eventually got on with a two-out walk, but both runners were ultimately left stranded.

Senior Jackson Dooley recorded the second and final hit for the Lions with a roller to the Blue Valley shortstop. LHS also had several line drives that went right to the defense, such as a rocket to left from junior Braden Hoffman in the fourth and a line-out to right by Vasquez in the sixth.

In total, the Lions stranded six runners against Liggett, who struck out eight batters over seven innings. He picked up two strikeouts against the bottom of the order in the seventh to close the book on LHS’ season.

“Even though we only had two hits, I was super pleased with our approach to the plate,” Brad Stoll said. “You can’t let him get to his breaking ball. I was pleased with how we attacked the fastball; I thought we put some really good swings on him. I thought we put some pressure on him running the bases early.”

On the other side, the Tigers took advantage of some miscues by the Lions. Blue Valley grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second, starting with a two-out single by senior Tate Gillen for the game’s first run. Two defensive errors by LHS led to two more runs for Blue Valley.

The Tigers tacked on an additional two runs in the third against junior starter Grant Cleavinger, who pitched five innings. Senior John Green then got the ball in the sixth, giving up one run on two hits before capping off his high school career with a strikeout against Jace Peters.

“We had high expectations going into this year with this team,” Green said. “Just knowing this is the last time I get to share the field with a lot of these guys really sucks.”

• • •

The season might not have ended the way the Lions wanted it to, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have fond memories of it. LHS persevered through an up-and-down year, finishing with a 12-10 record. And the game before their season-ending loss — a 1-0 win over No. 9 seed Olathe Northwest earlier in the day — illustrated the resilience the Lions had showed all spring.

The game against Olathe Northwest actually began on Tuesday, but it was delayed by weather in the top of the fourth with the score at 0-0.

When the game resumed on Friday, junior starting pitcher Ike Cobb picked up right where he left off. He recorded two quick outs in the top of the fourth, letting his offense get to work in the home half of the inning.

Hoffman got things started with a leadoff hit and was then moved over by senior Blake Schimmel on a sacrifice bunt. After a base knock from Dooley, the Lions scored the game’s only run on a sacrifice fly to right from junior second baseman Evan Bannister.

“I told them all we had to do was score one,” Brad Stoll said. “Give Ike a run; he’s going to win, because he just felt it. We executed very well.”

Cobb polished off his own complete-game shutout, and the game ended about 40 minutes after it had resumed. He struck out seven batters and gave up just one hit.

The biggest scare for the Lions occurred in the fifth, when Olathe Northwest (10-11) managed to get the leadoff runner on via a fielding error. But Cobb calmly whiffed the next two batters to keep his team in front.

“I knew it was going to happen,” Green said of Cobb’s complete-game shutout. “I know every time Ike comes out, he’s going to give it his all and throw a good game. Hats off to Ike. Ike pitched his butt off, and we just fell short.”

Regional semifinal: LHS 1, Olathe NW 0

ONW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 1 2

LHS 0 0 0 1 0 0 X — 1 5 2

Regional championship: BV 6, LHS 0

LHS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 3

BV 0 3 2 0 0 2 X — 6 7 0