One win in a doubleheader is better than none, but it doesn’t have to be satisfying.

And, despite taking the back end of a double dip from Olathe South, 3-1, a bitter aftertaste still lingered in the mouths of Lawrence High’s softball players after a 3-1, nine-inning loss in the opener Tuesday at Holcom Complex.

“I really felt like we should have and needed to come out here today and walk away with two wins, and obviously that didn’t happen,” LHS coach Reenie Stogsdill said. “I’m happy with the way we bounced back in the second game.

“But I really don’t like to lose a game, and we really don’t like to lose when we give it away. And we gave that game away. They didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves. That’s frustrating.”

Leading 2-1 in the sixth inning of game one, Lions pitcher Whitney Juneau was in a jam. With runners at first and third base, the runner on first attempted a steal. Instead of holding the ball to keep the runner on third at bay, LHS catcher Lauren Kelly overthrew second base into center field. South’s Emily Calder scored from third, and that run eventually forced extra innings.

The Falcons finally scored in the top of the ninth when Kassy Cole’s chopper over the head of LHS third baseman Shannon Worley scored Erica Dierks from second base. LHS went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

“I think we gave it away,” LHS shortstop Drew Huff said. “That was a win we knew we could have, and we’re better than that team. We just lost focus at the end of the game and gave it to them. (Coach Stogsdill) said that she doesn’t really care about the physical errors that much. It’s just the mental errors that we had at the end of the game.”

Those mental errors went away in the second game. The Lions manufactured runs with heavy activity on the base paths and took advantage of a little luck. Sam Hays scored on a wild pitch from Melissa Grieb in the bottom of the first, and Amy Bullerman later scored on an errant throw.

Lawrence High's Caitlin Bowlin slides safely into second base under the tag of Olathe South shortstop Melissa Grieb. The Lions split a doubleheader with O-South on Tuesday at Holcom Complex.

That was all the scoring LHS would need behind a solid pitching performance from Lisa Pearse in the 3-1 victory. Pearse, who allowed just one run, was backed by solid defense, especially in the middle infield.

“We really haven’t played real great defense behind Lisa, and it was nice to see that we played defense today,” Stogsdill said. “I kind of challenged them to come out this second game and play with a little more enthusiasm and desire for the game, and I think they did that.”

LHS will play host to Olathe North at 3:30 p.m. today at Holcom.