An 8-2 loss left the Bainbridge High varsity baseball team in the dust of the busy Ballard Beavers Wednesday. It also dropped the island squad’s overall season record to 7-5 (6-2 in conference) and earned them the sixth-place spot in the Metro standings.

The loss was disappointing, if not entirely shocking. Ballard is tied for the league’s top spot (10-2 in conference) with Lakeside, and everyone knew they were in for a battle from the shout of “Play ball!”

Team officials said, given the skill of their opponent, the crew were taking the loss in stride.

“Sometimes it just happens,” said BHS Co-Head Coach Bill Ackerley. “They were ready to play and they were solid and we weren’t. And sometimes that’s just the way goes. It wasn’t our day.”

The Beavers scored first and led early Tuesday, and they were up 6-1 by just the bottom of the third.

It was a lead the Spartans never managed to chip away.

The final score, Ackerley said, was indicative of the team’s performance Wednesday — but Wednesday’s performance was not indicative of the team.

Or, in fact, their typical capability.

“That is not the way I expect the team to play on a regular basis,” Ackerley said. “And, they obviously don’t expect it either.

“Ballard’s had a very good season,” he added. “We knew that. They scored eight runs, and I want to say we gave them five of them. They still had enough to beat us, even if I’m right about that, but you can’t do that. When a team’s playing as well as they are, you don’t want to help them, and that’s what we did today.”

However, the loss would not nag at the Spartans long, Ackerley said. They’d have plenty on their minds — and more than enough on their plates — in the days to come to keep them busy.

“We’ve got games lined up every day — in fact on Friday we’re going to be playing two games,” the coach said. “We’ve got a game [Thursday], two games Friday, and a game Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. The best way to get over a game like this? It’s to go play right away.”

The Spartans played Ingraham on Thursday and will face Rainier Beach and Eastside Catholic Friday.

Rainier Beach lags in the standings, tied with Cleveland for the bottom spot, but EC is better ranked than Bainbridge, giving Friday all the makings of a tough week finale.

“It’ll be a fun day, though,” Ackerley said. “Nothing but baseball for these guys. I figure, everybody will get to touch the field that way, which is nice. We like to get guys in all the time for significant innings.”