At the crack of the bat, Nikki O' Brien dashes toward first base.

Bonita bats fell silent on Thursday as the team could muster only four hits before falling to Canyon Springs 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs at Las Flores Park.

Oddly enough, that lone run came in the bottom of the first when Corrina Liscano scored on a wild pitch from Canyon Springs pitcher Lauren Oredl.

That single run stood up until the top of the fourth when Canyon Springs’ Coutney Smith clubbed a two-out, two-run double to right field. Bonita starting pitcher Anissa Sanchez had surrendered a walk and a solid single to start the inning before striking out the next two batters. She almost wiggled off the hook before Smith’s two-out heroics.

“Annisa did a great job, we couldn’t bring the hits behind her and that’s what hurts,” Coach Ken Carlson said moments after the game.

“Our bats just didn’t show up today,” he added. “You’re going to make errors, you’re going to allow the other team a base hit or two and they may score, but if you don’t answer back, you’re not going to win ball games.”

In the bottom of the third, lead-off hitter cracked a one-out triple, but was stranded. Again, it was surprising Bonita never caught fire considering the Bearcats sported a .367 team batting average entering the playoffs.

Bonita’s Lisa Liddell scratched out hits in the fourth and seventh innings, but the Bearcats never strung any other hits behind her.

Meanwhile, Canyon Springs padded their 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth with four straight hits, including RBI singles by Malia Campbell and Vanessa Armas to give Canyon Springs a 4-1 lead entering the seventh inning.

Carlson was gracious in defeat despite the one-and-done heartbreaking loss.

“We like to think that we prepared well for the game,” said the skipper who two years’ back missed by an eyelash of taking his team to the “big dance.” “You can’t take it away from their pitcher. She did a great job, keeping us off balance. We didn’t make the correct adjustments, and ultimately, they win. Hats off to her. We wish them all the luck down the road.”

If there is a silver lining for the team, it’s that the entire team, excluding one senior, returns next year. “We’ll grow and mature from this,” Carlson said.

Carlson shared how his top teams in the past had strong senior and junior leadership, and anticipates many of his current players taking over those roles next year. “Once they understand how important those roles are to building a team, then look out. Everything will click and it’ll be Bonita baseball again.

“Next year will be a very good year for us.”

Friend us on Facebook. Sign up for the free weekly update on the Home Page of LaVerneOnline. Hit the FREE SUBSCRIBE tab.