HARBORCREEK TWP — In the two days leading up to the first playoff appearance in 15 years for the Slippery Rock High softball program, the Rockets had crisp, clean practices.

“It was the best two days of practice we've ever had,” said Rockets' coach Dan Hindman.

The coach, in only his second season and coming off a one-win campaign in 2014, was convinced his team would be loose and ready to play in the District 10 Class AAA semifinal against General McLane.

Slippery Rock did play well with several chances to surge ahead against the Lancers, but Hindman said he sensed the pressure getting to his young team in a 5-0 loss to General McLane at Penn State-Behrend Thursday afternoon.

“I thought we'd be a little more comfortable in this setting today,” Hindman lamented. “But, boy, we were a lot tighter than we anticipated. This is all part of it. I remember back when I was at Moniteau, I saw the same things, especially early on.”

Still, the Rockets (13-4) hung around against a potent hitting General McLane team.

The Lancers scored a run in the bottom of the first as Michelle Fisher led off the frame with a single and then scored on a triple by Lauren Gierlak.

But Slippery Rock and pitcher Cheyenne Hindman got out of the inning with no further damage.

Cheyenne Hindman kept the Rockets in the game by getting out of a few jams.

That was also the M.O. of General McLane pitcher Erica Suprynowicz.

Hope Schnell doubled with two outs in the top of the second inning, but was stranded there.

In the fifth inning, the Rockets got runners on second and third with no one out, but failed to score.

“It got sticky there a few times,” said General McLane coach Hannah Cox. “But they didn't lose it and they did their jobs and got out of it.”

Lancers' shortstop Morgan Farley helped her team get out of that fifth-inning trouble by snaring a sharp line drive off the bat of Megan Mingione for the second out.

If Farley hadn't been able to snag the liner, two runs likely would have scored and suddenly Slippery Rock would have had a one-run lead.

“A nice line drive like that gets you back in the game and changes the momentum,” Dan Hindman said. “Then, who knows what happens.”

It was just one of several strong defensive plays made by Farley.

“Morgan is an exceptional shortstop,” Cox said. “She covers a lot of ground and gets to balls that not a lot of others could get.”

Cheyenne Hindman, though, couldn't get out of her final jam. General McLane got to the freshman pitcher for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“We've kind of been struggling at the plate of late, so to get a run in the first was huge,” Cox said. “Then we started to struggle again until the (sixth inning). We've been really working on hitting in practice, so it was nice to see that pay off for us.”

Dan Hindman is hoping this experience will pay off down the road for his young team.

He loses three seniors — Marie Bosch, Megan Mingione and Desirea Heinl — but has the bulk of his key players returning.

The seniors stuck it out through two wins in the last two years before the breakthrough 2015 campaign.

“I think those three felt like the playoffs this year was a possibility with some of the younger girls who were playing this year, but I don't think they really, truly believed it until we started winning,” Dan Hindman said.

“Great experience for the girls playing here,” the coach added. “Failure isn't the opposite of success. It's part of it.”

Slippery Rock 000 000 0 — 0 2 2

General McLane 100 004 x — 5 12 0

W: Erica Suprynowicz 7IP (4K, 1BB). L: Cheyene Hindman 6IP (6K, 1BB).

Slippery Rock (13-4): Hope Schnell 2B 1B

General McLane (14-3): Michelle Fisher 3-1B, Lauren Guerlak 3B 1B 2-RBI, Suprynowicz 1B, Kyra Piotranski 1B 2-RBI, Morgan Farley 1B 2-SB, MiKayla Kiser 1B, Alma Mamani 1B, Brooke Staley 1B, Kristine May 1B