Kingsley-Pierson tallied another Maple Valley Conference softball loss Tuesday night.

But coach Pat Henrich is not worried. "The girls are very capable of playing with anybody," he said.

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And the Lady Panthers worked to prove that again tonight as they battled Maple Vally-Anthon-Oto and fell 7-3.

K-P took the lead first, briefly.

In the bottom of the first, Ashley Langel knocked out a single to get on base. A single by Jessica Washburn sent Langel home for the run.

In the top of the third, the Rams took advantage of some K-P errors, tallying four runs to take a 4-1 lead.

"The errors is what cost us," Henrich said. "We gave them that big inning. Take that inning away and we played right with them."

K-P tried to rally back in the bottom of the third but only managed two runs.

Langel scored for the second time of the night. The senior was batted in by a Jen Henrich single.

Kathryn Merk scored the third run of the night for K-P on an RBI from Washburn.

MVAO still held a 4-3 lead after the third. The Rams secured their win by scoring three more runs in the top of the fifth to take a 7-3 lead. MVAO played tough defense for the rest of the game and shut K-P down to take the eventual 7-3 win.

The Lady Panthers recorded six hits on the night, led by Langel who went 3-4 and scored two runs.

Washburn was 1-3 with a pair of RBI's while Henrich was also 1-3 and batted in one run. Dani Bottorff had the last hit, going 1-3 at the plate on the night.

"The girls played well," Henrich said. "They seem to be playing more like a team. Things are starting to come around for us."

On the mound, Onna Olson was the losing pitcher. In seven innings, Olson gave up seven runs--one earned--on six hits, including a double. She struck out one and walked seven.

The Lady Panthers totaled three errors on the night.

"Onna is staying pretty consistent for us," Henrich said. "She gave up a few more walks tonight than she ever has, but errors are what cost us the game. Onna is doing a really good job."

With the loss, K-P drops to 0-5 in the Maple Valley Conference and 2-14 overall.

"I challenged the girls tonight to get all four remaining conference games," Henrich said. "These girls are very capable of playing with anybody."

Henrich's squad has another opportunity for a conference win Thursday night when they face Galva-Holstein on the road. Including that game, four MVC contests remain for K-P this season.