LEBANON — Two days removed from a dramatic seventh-inning comeback, Woodlawn’s magic ran out against Lebanon in the finals of the Class 1A Lebanon Regional Monday night.

The Cardinals lost to Lebanon,11-1 in five innings.

“They’ve got sticks all the way down the lineup,” Woodlawn Coach Eric Helbig said of the Lebanon Greyhounds.. “Some of the teams we play we can pitch around a couple girls, but we had to execute every play and every pitch today.”

Woodlawn (19-8) struck first in the top of the third inning. Lebanon pitcher Courtney Washington stumbled to open the inning, hitting Woodlawn junior Whitney Lowery and walking junior pitcher Bria McKinzie. Senior Taylor Sprehe brought home the run with a double to give Woodlawn a brief 1-0 lead.

But Washington quickly recovered and did not allow another runner to reach base the rest of the game. All told, Washington struck out seven Cardinals, surrendering just one hit and one run for the game.

While Washington kept the Cardinals in check, the Greyhound bats kept finding hits.

Woodlawn pitcher Bria McKinzie kept Greyhound batters off the bases for two three-and-out innings, but Hailey Cummings opened up the third inning with a double and Lebanon catcher Courtney Belcher followed with another.

After Claire Beakley struck out, the Greyhounds recorded three consecutive RBI singles to regain the lead at 3-1. An RBI double ended the inning for Lebanon to put the Cardinals behind 4-1.

“[McKinzie] has battled all year for us and been outstanding,” Helbig said. “We just got some tough luck with some bloops that went in there and they squared a couple up too.”

It wasn’t unfamiliar territory for the Cardinals, fresh off a dramatic four-run comeback win Saturday against Dupo. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lebanon faced a 5-8 deficit but came away with the win on some hard sliding and clutch hitting down the stretch.

“That Saturday game was probably one of the craziest games I’ve been in, softball-wise,” Helbig said. “We showed a  ton of heart and battled in the last inning. We were hoping to get another shot today, but when that last run crosses the plate there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Lebanon wouldn’t allow for any late-game theatrics, as Washington fanned two in each of the final two innings and the Lebanon bats continued to work. Another two runs came across the plate in the fourth inning, lengthening Lebanon’s lead to 6-1.

Claire Beakley put the finishing touches on the win in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run drive to the left center gap, capping a five-run fifth inning for Lebanon, which won the game by building a 10-run lead in the fith inning to force the end of the game.

“We hoped we could come out and be just a little bit better today,” Helbig said. “But like I said, you’ve just got to give all kinds of credit to Lebanon. They’re a good team and I would be very surprised if they’re not playing in Peoria in a couple of weeks.”

Helbig, while disappointed with the loss, was nonetheless pleased with his team’s performance this season.

The Cardinals finished with a 19-8 final record, and returns a team loaded with young talent. Freshman Paige Tufts and junior Whitney Lower, both underclassmen, were the heroes Saturday against Dupo.

Lowery’s two-RBI hit in the final inning tied the game, and Tufts hard slide into second beat the throw and gave Woodlawn the win.

“You don’t want to look too far forward after just today,” Helbig said. “But we’ve got a lot of young kids that love to play and we’re definitely looking forward to having them back after the next couple of years.”

McKinzie, who ended up with a 16-8 record on the season, agreed with her coach.

“We’re in a really tough regional,” McKinzie said. “But we’re going to get better because we’re going to get experience and we’re going to be playing over the summer and we’re going to get used to each other.”