DEXTER — As has been the case in many of Eastside’s recent games, especially this postseason, it came down to one inning against West Laurens in game three of the Lady Eagles’ second-round playoff series. This time though, Eastside was on the short end of the stick. The Lady Raiders scored four runs in the fourth inning and it proved to be enough as Abi LeRoy shut the Lady Eagles down for the second time and West Laurens moves on to the Elite Eight at Columbus after the 4-0 win. After playing stellar defense since opening the playoffs last week against Harlem, Eastside was again hurt by a fielding error. Whitney Oliver’s double off the right field wall scored West Laurens’ first two runs before Emily Almand’s throw to first sailed over Reese Rogers’ head on a bunt play to allow the other two runs to come in. "When things went wrong (for us), they pushed the pedal to the metal and that’s what a good team will do," Eastside coach Jason Stokes said. "We expect these kinds of things in these close matches but you have to field and take care of those things to win ball games." Taylor Causey pitched her third straight game and it showed. It wasn’t a lack of command or You could tell right away. It wasn’t necessarily her it was their hitters," Stokes said. "Their approach to the plate was quite different. Their swings were a lot different. When they swung it wasn’t like they were missing. They were squaring her up." Eastside had runners in scoring position in each the first two innings but came away empty both times. "We had runners on early but with two outs," Stokes said. "We had runners on but with two outs, that’s tough. One hit here or there earlier and things could have been much different." Eastside managed just three hits. Amanda Hawkins’ double in the first was their only extra base hit. Savannah Upshaw and Erin Steele had Eastside’s other two hits — both singles. After scoring four in the fourth, the momentum shifted dramatically toward West Laurens. LeRoy didn’t give up a hit over the final three innings and Kerstin Hilly was Eastside’s sole base runner when she drew a leadoff walk in the seventh. "Four runs against a pitcher we only scored one run against earlier, that had to be in the back of their minds," Stokes said. "They’re human. No matter how much you think you can, there’s always going to be some doubt. Ninety percent of this game is mental."
Lady Eagles out after 4-0 loss