LAKEWOOD — A veteran Lakewood softball team ran out of opportunities and, once again, fell just short of the district tournament at the hands of Lynden.

A similar fate befell the largely junior squad last season as Lakewood vied against Lynden in a district play-in game at Lakewood High School.

Small fielding errors hurt the home team in the May 12 game as Lynden players got on base and in position to do some damage. The Lions took the first lead as a sacrifice fly by the Lynden catcher batted in a run. Their lead grew to two in the top of the fourth before sophomore right fielder Amanda Bean gave Lakewood a run, batting in teammate Kahlee Barrio.

Lynden scored its third and final run in the top of the fifth, setting the stage for a seventh-inning showdown. The effort didn’t disappoint.

With one out, Lakewood’s Britney Owens came up to bat, getting a base hit and was advanced around the bases by freshman third baseman Mariah Smith. The hit went down as a run in the scorebooks when Stephanie Kushner converted on a Lynden error. The next batter flew out, but with the tying run on base, Lakewood couldn’t have asked for a better batter in the scenario than senior Becca Bean, who set the school record for the high batting average last season.

The Lakewood catcher battled at the plate before hitting a fly ball to left field.

Lynden made the catch and ended the Lakewood rally 3-2.

“We gave it to them. We made error after error after error,” said a disappointed coach Steve Barker after the game. “It’s a shame to see the girls go out this way.”

Lakewood loses a lot of varsity experience to graduation this season, including longtime pitcher Kally Behen, catcher Becca Bean and first baseman Hayley Bustad.

Bean has committed to play for Simpson College, a Division III school in Indianola, Iowa, while Behen intends to keep playing at Everett Community College.

“They had just super seasons in the field and at bat,” Barker said of his pitcher-catcher duo. “They were the constants for us.”