A ‘disheartening’ loss

NEW BERN — Coaches like to say that it’s nearly impossible to beat a team three times in a row, no matter what the sport.

Last week, Havelock’s softball team shot holes in that theory from both directions.

After completing a three-game season sweep of Northern Nash Thursday in the first round of the Big East 4-A Conference tournament, the Rams were beaten Friday by Greenville Conley for the third time in as many tries in a 3-0 loss to the Vikings in Round 2. The loss ended the Rams’ season at 12-10.

Conley (22-1), the Big East regular-season champion, took advantage of a pair of crucial errors in the fourth inning that would lead to three unearned runs and give Vikings pitcher Shelly Brown all the breathing room she’d need. Brown pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits while striking out seven.

Havelock starter Jesselyn LaValley also went the distance, holding the Vikings to just a pair of hits while striking out four and walking one. But the wild fourth inning in which the Rams briefly imploded cost Havelock a shot at knocking off the league’s best team.

“It’s all blurring,” said Havelock coach Terry Taylor, who was so shocked at the turn of events that he had to ask for a recap of the inning. “We were cruising along and all of a sudden we came apart.”

LaValley, a freshman righthander, had cruised through the first three innings before issuing a one-out walk to Brown, Conley’s first baserunner of the game. Paige Baggett followed with a grounder back to LaValley, who turned and fired to second. Rams shortstop Susannah Dabney, covering on the play, missed the bag with her foot, then threw high to first. The ball sailed over the fence behind the bag, scoring Brown and sending Baggett to second.

Vikings catcher Lindsay Styons followed with a line-drive double to the gap in left-center that scored Baggett. Designated hitter Clarissa Sellers then laid down a bunt. Havelock catcher Emilly Van Ord quickly picked up the ball and tagged Sellers, but the ball bounded out of her hand and toward the first base dugout. Styons scored while Van Ord retrieved it, and Sellers was thrown out trying to advance to second. LaValley got Carol Lilley to pop up to end the inning.

“It’s rather disheartening,” said Rams third baseman Meghan Clark, a senior. “On account of the errors, they scored two runs. If there hadn’t been errors, we’d still be playing. But that’s life.”

“They take advantage of errors as good as anybody I’ve seen,” Taylor said. “You can handle them as long as you don’t make errors, but when you make errors and open the floodgates, they jump right on top of you. They’re good at it.”

“You have to take advantage of those situations to be successful, and we were lucky this time,” Conley coach Joey Baggett said.

Havelock’s best chance to score cam in the second, when LaValley led off with a single to center but was stranded at third after a pair of bunts. Left fielder Krista Giles led off the third with a single but never advanced past second.

“When you get baserunners on with this crowd, you have to take advantage,” Taylor said.

Conley went on to beat Greenville Rose for the fourth time this season 3-0 in the tournament’s title game.

The Rams lose four seniors to graduation but return a nucleus of young players. Taylor started either four or five freshmen for the entire season.

“We need more experience, I guess,” LaValley said.

Taylor gave a long, emotional speech to his team in the left-field corner after the game. Several players departed the field in tears.

“It takes a little while for it to sink in,” Taylor said. “It’s kind of hard to realize that was the last ballgame.”