King’s Fork High School’s softball team had been playing error-free at the right time of the season, but it did not continue this caliber of play in Wednesday night’s regional semifinal against visiting Grafton High School.

The Lady Bulldogs committed seven errors, and the Lady Clippers went on to win 6-1, spoiling the chance for an all-Suffolk regional championship match-up between King’s Fork and Nansemond River High School.

“The wheels fell off,” said KF head coach Richard Froemel, who was puzzled by what happened to his team defensively. “We really emphasized how important this game was, obviously, and they were on the same page together, but it just seemed like once we got up there and started pursuing the ball, things just didn’t go our way. We were all thumbs.”

Offensively, the Lady Bulldogs were able to get on base, producing six hits, but Froemel said they rarely moved beyond second.

One of the few exceptions came in the first inning when senior Kayla Harbin hit a double that scored senior Ashley Roten, who went 2-for-4 during the game.

Junior pitcher Sydney Wash (13-6) allowed 10 hits and had one strikeout.

King’s Fork had faced Grafton earlier in the season on the Lady Clippers’ home field, falling then, 5-3.

After Wednesday’s game, Froemel had some instructions for his dejected players, particularly the seniors.

“When you look back at this season, don’t look back at the last game,” he said he told them. “We really did do some good things.”

The Lady Bulldogs (16-9) reached the regional playoffs for the first time in school history and were the inaugural Ironclad Conference softball tournament champions.