A season of sweetness ended a little sour last week as the Nation Ford Lady Falcons fell 6-4 to Boiling Springs in the District IV playoffs.

The loss knocked the Lady Falcons out of the playoffs and ended their inaugural season with a 18-6 record.

Head coach Michael Kidd said with a first season like this for a new school, the team accomplished a lot, actually probably more than it realizes.

"In years to come, these kids will realize how important that stuff is," he said.

Nation Ford struck first, going up early 4-0 in the bottom of the first. Freshman Brittany Baker led the game off with a double, as she went 1-4 in the game. Junior Lindsay Visbeck followed that hit with a single, as she went 2-4 with a triple in the second inning. Two batters later, junior Amanda Stevens singled in Baker for the first run of the game. Freshman Somer Cronley, who went 1-4, doubled in Visbeck and sophomore Jennifer Bonham, who reached on a walk.

Pitcher Heather Hammond, who entered the game at 15-4 on the year cruised along until the third inning, when she gave up four runs on three hits and two walks to tie the game at 4-4.

Hammond settled down and didn't pitch poorly during the game, but made one big mistake in the top of the ninth inning.

With the score still tied 4-4, the teams used the extra inning rule of putting a runner on second base after eight innings. Boiling Springs' Brittany Wood, who homered in the first-round meeting between the two teams to give them a 1-0 win, came up to the plate with one out and went deep to straight away center to put Boiling Springs up 6-4 with the eventual game-winner.

"We just didn't have timely hitting," Kidd said. "They did."

Hammond's arm, which helped guide Nation Ford all season, started to give out.

"She is fighting a very sore arm," Kidd said. "She was almost a scratch."