When the John Stark softball team traveled to play Milford High School in April, the Generals crushed the Spartans, 12-0. Milford returned the unwelcome favor at the worst possible time.

The fourth-seeded Generals were ousted from the Class I quarterfinals on Saturday, June 7, following a 7-1 loss to the fifthranked Spartans at Memorial Field in Concord.

The biggest difference came in the circle, where Milford’s ace pitcher, Lindsay Lozeau, shut down the Stark bats.

“It was her, 100 percent,” said John Stark’s head coach, Zack Medlock. “We didn’t see her the first time. It wasn’t like they threw the ball around that game, we just hit the ball. Today we pressed a little too much.”

Milford scored two runs in the first frame and followed with three in the second inning, putting John Stark in a big hole.

In the home half of the second, John Stark tried to climb back into the contest thanks to a leadoff triple by cleanup hitter Kelsey Francher.

After a strikeout, Lozeau allowed Francher to score on a wild pitch.

In the fourth inning, with Francher again on third, Molly Dussault flew to right field, but Francher was thrown out trying to score thanks to a perfect throw from Milford outfielder Beth Solan.

John Stark was unable to muster any hits in the final three innings, putting runners on courtesy of a walk and a Milford error.

“We left some balls up in the (strike) zone, and they hit them. Their pitcher really controlled the game out there,” said Medlock. “We had some anxiousness. We were aggressive, and we always are, but it hurt us today.”

The Generals fielded a team that was inexperienced in the postseason and unfamiliar with playing from behind.

“It’s not only that it was unfamiliar, but then you let up a few fluky plays and it gets uncomfortable. You get a little panicked and don’t know how to shed that, “ said Medlock. “We’re not used to being down. We usually score in bunches.”

Despite the early exit, the Generals finished with a 17-4 record, which impressed Medlock. “Considering we were 5-10 last year without a glimpse of the playoffs, we had a fantastic season,” he said. “We exceeded expectations all over. We’re not happy with the end, but we are with the season.”