A season that held so much potential for the Lafayette baseball team took just one inning to dismantle.

After beating Eureka twice during the regular season, the Lancers learned the hard way that the third time isn’t always a charm. When it mattered most, with the Class 4, District 4 title at stake, they were shocked in a 10-0 loss cut short by the five-inning mercy rule.

Just like the Lancers had done to Pacific a day earlier, they were finished off by a devastating second inning against the Wildcats. Senior Jake Busiek, a Mizzou recruit, started on the mound and got one out in the second before loading the bases. With four solid hits, including a three-run triple, the Wildcats took a 6-0 lead and drained the Lafayette crowd with most of the game still to be played.

The Lancers had some chances prior to giving up the lead, with three hard hits right to opposing outfielders. They finished with just three hits and were shut out for the first time all season.

“We hit hard, just right at people. I actually thought we pitched well, (Eureka) just found holes,” junior Kyle Hanlon said.

Another Eureka triple in the third inning made it 7-0 and forced Busiek (2-2) out of the game. He was relieved by senior Josh Ojlenik, who held up decently despite a shaky defense and lack of run support.

“It was pretty rough for the seniors to go out like that because they played so well and we had good leadership,”  Hanlon said.

The loss gave Lafayette a 19-9 final record, and the team’s 243 regular -season runs was just one shy of the school record.

“I was just more shocked. We didn’t think we’d lose that bad, especially to our rivals. We had a pretty good run, it’s just disappointing that we couldn’t end on a high note,” junior Anders Fladda said.