photo by: Conner Becker/Journal-World

Lawrence High junior Kyan Guss celebrates with a teammate after picking off SM North's Nate Doolin to retire the top of the second during Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Bison on April 19, 2023, at Lawrence High School.

In his first varsity start, junior Kyan Guss extended LHS baseball’s winning streak to three games with a 2-1 home victory over Shawnee Mission North on Wednesday — and got a bit of revenge along the way.

Through seven innings, Guss allowed a single run on four hits, one walk and six strikeouts. Two of those hits came from SM North’s Norman Davis Jr., and when he came up to bat with two outs in the top of the seventh, Guss was determined not to let him get another hit. And Guss succeeded in style, earning the win by striking Davis out on a full count.

“It felt very good to get him back,” Guss said. “I think the guys’ energy just ramped up towards the end and we got the W.”

Early on, though, both teams started off slow and had a hard time getting on the board.

SM North’s Nate Doolin singled for the first hit of the game, but then he cost the Bison the second inning by trying to steal second with two outs. Also in the second, LHS junior Connor Nowak registered the first hit for the Lions (5-5), doubling his way on base, but a flyout by senior River Lynch left LHS empty.

LHS senior Dominic Ostronic tripled in the bottom of the third, framing another scoring opportunity with junior Brooks Jones on deck. Jones popped one to center field, but SM North’s Jack Taylor made the catch, keeping things scoreless entering the fourth.

In the fifth, it was the Bison who cracked the scoreboard first. An RBI single by Davis brought home Ethan Jones, who’d doubled on an LHS error, from second base.

But SM North couldn’t make anything else happen, and Ostronic tied the ballgame at 1-1 with one out in the bottom of the fifth, rocketing off an RBI single of his own. Then, with Ostronic at first and junior Vaughn Wells at second, Jones singled to load the bases with just one out still on the board in the fifth. A sacrifice flyout by junior Tyson Grammer let the Lions add another run before the side retired.

In the sixth, an error by LHS allowed SM North’s Jack Taylor to lead off the inning with a base hit. A ground ball played by Cale Fossett resulted in a double play forced by Lynch and Sammy Stoll. Then Guss, staring down a full count with two outs in the sixth, sent Doolin back to the pine.

LHS then tried to add some insurance to its one-run lead, but Fossett, SM North’s reliever, had other plans. He struck out two Lions, the other out coming on a flyout, keeping LHS off the board heading into the seventh. But Guss managed to hang on in the final frame and secure the victory for the Lions.

After the game, coach Brad Stoll said he “was pleased with the at-bats.”

“It’s just whenever we get a little momentum, we get a strikeout — we’ve got to eliminate that,” he said. “That’s been our focus at practice.”

Stoll also said Guss could expect to start more in the future — and Guss was enthusiastic about helping the team continue its turnaround.

“I think earlier in the year, we definitely didn’t believe in ourselves as much,” Guss said. “Now that we’ve beaten a few good teams, I think we’ve got a mojo going.”

Up next, LHS travels to Olathe East on Thursday. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.

BOX SCORE:

Shawnee Mission North 000 010 0 – 1 4 1

Lawrence High 000 020 X – 2 6 4

W – Guss; L – Gates.

Highlights for LHS: Ostronic 2-for-3, 3B, RBI; Grammar 1-for-2, RBI; Wells 1-for-2, R, RBI; Nowak 1-for-3, 2B; Guss 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K.