photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence pitcher Brady Wollesen throws in a 4-3 loss to Sioux Falls-Jefferson at Lawrence High School on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

Lawrence baseball fell short in a 4-3 loss to Sioux Falls-Jefferson at Lawrence High School on Saturday.

The Lions had a chance at a game-tying run in the final inning of the early-season contest after a double by left fielder Tristan Prier, but were unable to bring it across.

“We didn’t make enough plays offensively,” coach Adam Green said. “We started the bottom of the seventh off with a double… We couldn’t have scripted it any better. We just have to execute a bit better offensively.”

Hudson Hardesty started on the mound for the Lions and threw five innings, allowing five hits and one earned run against five strikeouts.

He began with a strikeout in the opening inning as the defense retired the side. Offensively, Hardesty was the only Lion to get on base early with a walk in the first inning.

“That’s what we expect out of him — we expect every time he pitches for him to give us a chance to win,” Green said. “It’s easy to play defense behind an arm that stays in the zone consistently and pitches with pace and gives you a chance to get in rhythm.”

The game remained quiet through the third inning, with second baseman Logan Sheldon providing the Lions’ only other walk.

“We faced a good arm today, and we’re going to be better off having seen an arm like that,” Green said.

The Cavaliers took the lead in the top of the fourth inning after two singles. A pop fly to center fielder Jaxon Becker ended the inning before the Cavaliers could add to their lead.

The Lions also scored in the fourth inning. Hardesty started the inning with a single, and right fielder Josh Galbreath and shortstop Brandt Edmonds got on base with an error and a walk in the next two at-bats.

Brady Wollesen hit a pop fly, bringing Hardesty home for the first run. Becker walked in the next at-bat, which moved Galbreath to third base, where he scored on a wild pitch. A strikeout ended the inning after Galbreath’s run.

The Lions started at the top of the fifth with two outs, but an error and a free base gave the Cavaliers two runners on base. Two singles in consecutive at-bats brought home two runners to give the Cavaliers a one-run lead.

“Working on a slow roller, throwing the ball after catching it from different arm angles — those are things we have to work on,” Green said. “We’re only three weeks into the season. We haven’t worked on that a lot, but those are the things that’ll cost you.”

Third baseman Ethan Curry singled at the start of the bottom of the fifth and reached second base on an error. After stealing third, Curry served as the tying run with Hardesty’s groundout to shortstop.

The Cavaliers took back the lead with two hits in the top of the sixth, the latter being an RBI double to give the Cavaliers a one-run lead back. The Lions had two runners on base in the sixth but couldn’t bring anyone home.

The Cavaliers started the seventh with a walk and a single before a sacrifice bunt brought two runners in scoring position, but he Lions kept them from scoring with two groundouts.

For LHS, Prier started the bottom of the seventh with his double. The next two batters struck out before Edmonds got on base with a walk. The game ended with a third strikeout in the inning before the Lions could bring in the game-tying run.

Lawrence is off until a Friday game against Sioux Falls-Roosevelt and then another against Brandon Valley on Saturday at Lawrence High School.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence shortstop Brandt Edmonds winds up to hit in a 4-3 loss to Sioux Falls-Jefferson at LHS on Saturday, March 22, 2025.