Zoe Brewer did her best to fight back the tears.

But the Lawrence High softball senior starter couldn’t help but feel the pain of a late-inning comeback by Olathe East, which resulted in a 5-4 loss on Thursday at LHS.

“Something we need to work on is finishing,” said an emotional Brewer. “We started really good. Once we got ahead, we just kind of let it go.”

Trailing LHS, 4-2, heading into the seventh, Olathe East put together a three-run rally in the final frame after sending six batters to the plate.

Brewer gave up hits to Elizabeth Vaupel, Alex Olson and Halie Morris, who drilled the game-winning two-run single up the middle with two outs.

“It’s definitely disappointing,” Brewer said of the Olathe East rally. “Not hitting my spots was (frustrating), but letting them get on that ball–that’s something I need to work on.”

LHS limited the damage in the seventh after center fielder Kampbell Kilburn threw out Morris at second base to end the inning. Brewer was appreciative of her defense’s effort behind her the entire game.

“My fielders worked really hard to help me out, and I’m proud of them,” Brewer said.

With the help of her defense, Brewer also escaped threats in the second and third inning. Olathe East loaded the bases in the second before Brewer got a pop up to end the frame.

The Hawks also loaded the bases in the third with two outs, but a groundout ended the inning.

To make sure her team was always on the same page when runners were on base, Brewer took lengthy pauses before she pitched to a new batter so she could signal to her defense how many outs had been recorded.

“I just focus on what I’m doing,” said Brewer, who struck out six batters. “And make sure my fielders know where they’re going with the ball and constantly talking and communicating.”

Brewer’s longest pause on the mound came in the seventh, with two runners on and two outs. She held up two fingers to her outfield consisting of Angelina Harjo, Sammy Williams and Kilburn, and she yelled to her infield that LHS had just one more out to record.

The Lions (2-1) just weren’t able to secure it before the damage was done.

LHS attempted to put together a rally of its own in the bottom of the seventh. Brewer slapped a single to left with one out, but subsequent outs by Kilburn and Harjo ended the game.

“This one really hurts,” LHS coach Nicole Riley said. “We still haven’t beaten Olathe East in my seven years of coaching at the varsity level.”

LHS had an early 4-0 lead after Harjo belted an RBI triple in the first and Williams hit a two-run single in the third. The Lions scored another run in the second on a passed ball that Kate Williams walked on.

But after squandering the early lead, Riley said she is hoping her team — which includes just two seniors in Brewer and Morgan Husman — will learn how to close out games.

“If we’re going to win those games at some point, we’ve got to figure it out,” Riley said. “We’re young. We’ll be OK.”

Olathe East 000 020 3 — 5 12 0

Lawrence High 112 000 0 — 4 7 0

W–Kyleigh Lay. L–Brewer (2-1).

2B–Olson, Olathe East. 3B–Harjo, LHS.

LHS highlights–Brewer, 7 IP, 12 H, 2 BB, 6 K; Brewer, 2 for 3, run, walk; Harjo, 2 for 4, run, RBI; Williams, 2 for 2, run, walk, 2 RBI.