COURTLAND—For the second year in a row, the Southampton Indians came up just short of a trip to the state tournament, falling to Warhill High School 6-4 in Wednesday’s regional matchup

The Indians started the scoring off in the bottom of the first when junior Hayden Spalding led off with a double, moved to third on an errant pickoff throw, and then scored on Mason Wright’s ground out to second base.

Warhill’s offense came to life in the top of the third. After recording the first out, the Indians had trouble stopping the middle of the Lion’s lineup, and Warhill tallied four runs on four hits, one error, and a walk.

The Indians gained one run back in the fourth when Jake Pope scored on a Warhill error. In the bottom of the fourth, senior Dillon Hasty took the mound in relief of Spalding, who gave up three earned runs on five hits.

The Lions added to their lead in the top of the sixth when, with two outs, the Lions loaded the bases on two walks and an infield single.

Warhill cleanup hitter Blake Wills drove a line drive just left of the second basemen. Wright dove to make the play, but the ball hit off his glove and the visitors scored two more runs.

Southampton fought back in the bottom of the sixth when Pope lead off with a tough two-strike hit back up the middle. Tanner Winters doubled down the right field line, scoring Pope. After a Jack Bunn single, Winters scored on a Josh Riddick ground ball that went through the left side.

Southampton threatened in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t get any baserunners across the plate.

“We out hit them 7-6 and had one less error,” said Indians coach Wes Griffith. “They just hit it when they needed to and we didn’t. All of our hits were too spread out.”

Reflecting on a season in which The Indians finished 16-1 and were Southside District champions, Griffith added, “This team has played great. We have seven seniors, and a bunch of them have played in four regional tournaments. We just came up a game short of our goal this year to play in the state tournament.”