The Cranston West softball team finished the regular season strong, putting two together two of its best efforts in consecutive 3-0 wins over Westerly and Cumberland.

But when the single elimination round of the Division I playoffs arrived just days after the win over the Clippers, the Falcons saw the inconsistencies that had plagued them all season rise to the surface.

Playing Westerly again, West gave up seven runs in the third inning to fall behind 7-0. It fought back over the final few innings, but eventually saw its season come to an end with a 7-5 defeat.

The loss was a shocker, as West had gone 10-6 during the regular season and was the No. 7 seed, while Westerly was the No. 10 seed after a 7-9 season. Yet, one inning was all it took to sink the Falcons’ season.

“It was kind of a perfect storm,” West head coach Jeff Smith said. “We just couldn’t get the third out of the inning.”

The problem stemmed from a catcher’s interference call that turned what would have been the third out into another base runner for Westerly. From that point on, the Bulldogs scored four more runs to take a commanding lead.

Starting pitcher Kelly McDonough settled down from there and kept Westerly off the board the rest of the way, and the Falcons’ offense tried to do its part as well.

Gianna Hathaway got West on the board with a three-run home run in the fifth inning, and Courtney Salisbury brought two more runs in on a single in the sixth inning.

But that’s where the comeback ended. The Falcons got the tying runs on base with two outs in the seventh before Westerly pitcher Jessica Spargo shut the door.

“We left a lot of runners on base,” Smith said. “We did claw back with five runs, it just wasn’t enough. It fell short.”

The Falcons out-hit the Bulldogs 10-9, but still saw their season come to an end much earlier than they had hoped. It was the team’s quickest end to a season since missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons in 2007 and 2008, and it was the first time in the team’s nine-year history as a fast-pitch program that it lost in the single elimination round of the playoffs.

Last season, with essentially the exact same team, West advanced into the double elimination portion and was one of the final five teams remaining.

“It was something that they really thought they want to do – they had some games left in them,” Smith said. “It is what it is. They were disappointed. They really wanted to go a little deeper into the playoffs, but that’s why they play the game.”

The loss brought to a close an up-and-down season for West, which started out 5-0 in league play, only to lose six of its next nine before rallying to win the final two games of the season.

“There were just some times when we couldn’t bring the energy up to play a full seven innings,” Smith said. “A couple games this year we let go in the sixth, seventh inning.”

One highlight was the last game of the season, a 3-0 win over Cumberland on Senior Night. The Clippers finished 11-5 in the regular season.

“They’re one of the top teams in the division,” Smith said. “We just put it all together. Defense was there, timely hitting came up. Particularly, Kelly pitched one of her best games against Cumberland.”

Unfortunately, that would be the last win of West’s season. Westerly went on to lose 11-2 to North Kingstown in its next playoff game to fall into the loser’s bracket.

The Falcons will say goodbye to five seniors, all of whom were big parts of the team over the last few years. They are Salisbury, Laura Isacco, McDonough, Sarah Nacci and Sarah Rathbun.

“The five seniors, they all had lettered last year and a couple of them had lettered since they were freshmen,” Smith said. “They had contributions pretty much since they were sophomores. That will be a big hole to fill next year, particularly with the battery with Kelly and Courtney. They’ve been the heart and soul for the last couple years.”

Still, West should field a solid team again next year, with plenty of talent returning and other players coming up through the ranks.

“They’ll be big shoes to fill, but we’ve got some kids coming up that should be able to come in and contribute at the D-I level,” Smith said.