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It was a sad day for Blue Devil nation.

The girls’ softball team lost in extra innings to Bald Eagle yesterday 7-6 in the second round of the District 6-AA playoffs.

The loss eliminated the Lady Blue Devils. They had a great season, finishing 18-3-1, but two late errors showed that it just wasn’t their year.

The Lady Blue Devils were leading 6-4 in the last inning and could have closed out the game, but those two errors allowed Bald Eagle to tie the game. Then in the eighth inning, Bald Eagle scored one run for the victory.

B-A had taken the lead in the sixth inning on a two-run homer by senior Emily Nagle, her seventh of the season.  But BEA stormed back to tie it in its last at-bat.

It didn’t help that freshman Maddie Miller, a year-long starter as a pitcher and first baseman, was forced to exit the game int he fourth after injuring her hamstring.

Junior Jacqueline Finn definitely was hurt by the loss.

“This year hurts more than last year (losing to Philipsburg-Osceola in the playoffs),” she said.   “I thought we had all of the momentum but I guess we didn’t.”

Sophomore Laycee Clark was also hurt by the loss, but had a positive viewpoint.

“Next year we’ll be just as good because most of the girls are returning,” she said.

The Lady Blue Devils, who had only 11 players on their varsity roster, gained much experience from this past season.

“You can never score too many runs,” said Finn.

“Hopefully we’ll learn to keep our focus for the whole game,” Clark said.

Coach Jim Payne took heart in the loss because the tradition of softball at B-A is still strong.

“Bellwood Softball will continue to move forward and become a tradition, not just a program,” he said.