Central Whidbey’s 11/12 Little League baseball team lost 9-7 to host South Whidbey Monday, July 13, and was eliminated from the district tournament.

For Central Whidbey, it was “too many errors and mental mistakes,” according to coach Steve Hilborn.

The sloppy play put Central Whidbey in a 9-3 hole going into the fifth inning, and even with the help of a Noah Meffert grand slam, the Coupeville crew could not quite fight all the way back.

Central Whidbey sent the winning run to the plate in the sixth inning, but Ashton Leland’s towering fly fell a few feet short of clearing the fence and winning the game, Hilborn said.

Daniel Olsen and Chelsea Prescott shared the pitching duties for Central Whidbey.