Lawrence High School softball players Rhi Emerson, (0) and Annie Grammer (25) wait out a light rain shower during the Lions' game against Olathe North on Thursday, May 14 at LHS.

Lawrence High’s softball team paid for small mistakes in a big way on Thursday in a 12-6 loss to Olathe North at LHS.

The Lions left 12 runners on base, including at least one in each inning. But just as frustrating for them, all of Olathe North’s runs came with two outs, some innings extended by LHS errors.

It was a makeup game after the second game of their doubleheader on May 5 was suspended because of rain. After resuming in the second inning Thursday, tied 1-1, the Eagles (16-4) put two runners on through a walk and an error. Two pitches after a pop fly dropped in foul territory, O-North junior Alexa Sidoti hit a three-run homer.

In the bottom of the second inning, sophomore Rhi Emerson and junior Sami Mills drew walks, and senior Megan Sumonja singled to left. Despite loading the bases with no outs, O-North junior pitcher Halle Brin forced two grounders that turned into outs at the plate and a strikeout to end the threat.

LHS coach Joe Dee Tarbutton called Brin the best pitcher in the Sunflower League after she tossed a shutout in their first meeting, allowing just four hits.

“She had a little bit of movement,” LHS senior Morgan Byrn said. “She’s a little quicker than a lot of the other pitchers we’ve seen. She’s not blazing speed, but compared to the other girls she’s quicker.”

By the fifth inning, the Eagles had ballooned their lead to 11-1 with a few two-out rallies. In the fifth, O-North senior Maddie McCracken and sophomore Alexis Hodapp smashed two-run homers.

“It’s really frustrating, especially in the (second) inning when they had a little pop up,” Byrn said. “There were times when we could’ve got out of there and they just kept going. But it happens.”

Needing to score to avoid the 10-run mercy rule, the Lions started fighting back. After sophomore Annie Grammer and Shield hit back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the fifth inning, Byrn hit an RBI single, scoring Grammer. Shield later scored on a throwing error during a pickoff attempt and Byrn was plated on a sacrifice fly from junior Amber Flummerfelt.

“At the beginning of the game, we hit it hard, hit it to people,” Grammer said. “But then we started finding gaps. So we didn’t really change anything, we just had to find the gaps.”

The Lions (11-9) added two more runs in the sixth inning when Grammer turned her hands on an inside pitch and drilled a two-run home run, scoring senior Kenzie Garvin, who opened the frame with a single.

“I just talked to her about it a couple days ago and I think even yesterday about how this is her time of the year,” Tarbutton said of Grammer. “She got hot last year at this time. She’s doing it again, so we’re very, very proud of her for that.”

But the Lions couldn’t pull any closer. They loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning after a pair of walks and a bunt single from junior Brook Sumonja, but Grammer hit a line drive down the third-base line and it struck pinch-runner Alyssa Hurrelbrink in fair territory, ending the game on baserunner interference.

“I thought we were going to be able to do it,” Grammer said of a six-run rally. “When it hits the runner, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Though the Lions were happy with their comeback efforts in the final innings, they might have suffered a bigger loss. Tarbutton fears the Lions could be without junior shortstop Sophie Taylor for the postseason after she exited in the second inning because of a knee injury.

“I think she’s done,” he said. “We’ll see what the trainer says and go from there.”

The Lions will learn of their regional schedule this weekend.

O-North 131 240 1 — 12 16 2

Lawrence 100 032 0 — 6 10 3

W — Hallie Brin. L — Jolona Shield.

HR — Alexa Sidoti, Maddie McCracken, Alexis Hodapp, O-North; Annie Grammer, LHS.

LHS highlights — Kenzie Garvin, 1-for-3, walk, 2 runs; Grammer, 2-for-5, 2 RBI; Jolona Shield, 2-for-3, run; Morgan Byrn, 1-for-3, walk, RBI, run; Megan Sumonja, 1-for-2, 2 walks.