Manhattan ? Jenni Morrell saw this a year ago. She didn’t like it then, either.

Lawrence High’s softball team lost to Manhattan, 3-2 in nine innings, in their Class 6A regional championship Wednesday. LHS led until the seventh, when the Indians tied the game, but the Lions couldn’t score in the extra frames.

Like last year, when Manhattan won 2-1 in eight innings, this loss was hard to take.

“It felt like dejvu from last year, except I thought we were gonna win,” said Morrell. “I thought we played good enough to win; it’s just one of those things you can’t do much about.”

The Lions (12-10) advanced to the championship with a 9-0 win against Junction City in the day’s first game, then dominated early against Manhattan.

LHS scored two runs in the third when junior Danielle Huff laced a single to left with runners on second and third. Manhattan left fielder Megan Schoenfield misplayed the ball, allowing juniors Jennifer Narcomey and Morrell to score.

Then the luck ran out.

The Lions had the same situation in the fourth inning when Morrell roped the ball into left field over Schoenfield, but as she turned to run after the ball, she put up her glove and caught the ball without looking, denying LHS two runs.

Manhattan High's Megan Schoenfield, back left, hugs teammate Denise Degenhardt behind Lawrence High second baseman Drew Huff. The Lions lost, 3-2 in nine innings, Wednesday in Manhattan.

“How does she catch that ball?” LHS coach Reenie Stogsdill said. “If she doesn’t make that catch — and I’m not one to usually do this — but I really believe we win the game.”

The Lions missed another scoring chance in the fifth, but held strong on defense thanks to sophomore pitcher Whitney Juneau and nice defensive plays by Morrell at shortstop and Huff at third.

But when the seventh rolled around, the Indians (14-9) broke through, opening with a single, then scoring two batters later. They did the same in the ninth, opening with a single, then loading the bases until first baseman Denise Degenhardt dropped an RBI single into right.

“We had some errors that cost us, and I didn’t feel like those two runs were going to be enough,” Stogsdill said. “We couldn’t get that two-out hit. They did twice.

“But I’m proud of this team and what they did this year.”