GOLDSBORO – This season ended the same as last.

Lawrence Academy’s varsity softball team suffered a 9-7 setback in the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association state tournament here Saturday and fell to Cape Fear Christian Academy for the second season in a row.

The Lady Warriors fell behind 9-0 in the contest, giving up four runs in the bottom of the first and then five additional runs in the bottom of the fourth. The ones in the fourth came thanks to a pair of Cape Fear hits and three Warrior errors.

“We’re disappointed in the way the season ended, but we are proud of the team,” Head Coach Bill Swain said. “We were able to win a lot of games with a very young team.”

Even trailing 9-0, the Warriors refused to quit, rallying to score seven runs in the final two innings.

In the sixth, Leanne Eubanks, Kendall Street and Ashley Swain had consecutive singles to center, scoring Eubanks to make it 9-1.

With two outs in the seventh, the Lady Warriors made the game more interesting than many thought.

Courtney Mizell reached on an error, Kendra Spruill walked and Sarah Capehart singled to load the bases for Lawrence.

Jennifer White reached on an error scoring Mizell before Eubanks laced a single to center that scored both Spruill and Capehart.

Street then delivered a three-run shot over the left-center field fence to make it 9-7. A groundout, however, ended the contest.

The Lady Warriors finished 22-3 on the season and third in the NCISAA.