There is a feeling that something is missing from the 2015 Nansemond River High School softball team.

“We don’t have something this year that we had last year,” Lady Warriors coach Gabe Rogers said. “Couldn’t tell you what it is.”

Fortunately, they have still been able to win ballgames, like on Thursday when visiting Western Branch High School fell 7-6. But on Friday, host Deep Creek High School did not go down, winning 3-2 in nine innings to hand Nansemond River its second loss this season.

“We’re waiting a little bit too late in the game to get excited about playing the game,” Rogers said. “It’s hurting us.”

On Friday, the Lady Warriors did not score until the fifth inning, after the Lady Hornets had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth. On Thursday, The Lady Bruins gained a 2-0 lead in the top of the third before Nansemond River put up its first three runs in the bottom of the third.

“We should be performing at a much higher level than what we are,” Rogers said.

But he made it clear the Lady Warriors are not playing poorly.

On Friday against Deep Creek, “we played well, they just played better than we did,” he said.

NR took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, but the Lady Hornets hit a home run in the sixth inning to tie the game up. An infield single in the ninth inning won the game for them.

“We may see them again in the regionals,” Rogers said.

In the wake of Thursday’s win against Western Branch, he said, “I was happy that we beat a good team. I thought we played well. (The Lady Bruins are) an excellent hitting team.”

Western Branch actually ended up out-hitting Nansemond River 12 to 11, but the Lady Warriors made better use of their opportunities.

When the Lady Bruins tied the game 3-3 in the top of the fourth, Nansemond River responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth then piled on three more in the sixth.

The Lady Warriors had a 7-3 lead going into the final inning, but the top of the Lady Bruins’ lineup awaited them, and Rogers said, “We kind of knew it’s not going to be easy.”

Western Branch scored three runs before NR got the game’s final out. Rogers said junior Lauren Maddrey pitched a change-up, and the Lady Bruins’ No. 9 batter was looking to slap, got off-balance, reached out and poked it, creating a weak fly ball that junior shortstop KateLynn Hodgkiss caught to end the game.

“They definitely had opportunities to take the lead in that last inning, but we did just enough to hang on and win,” Rogers said.

Lady Warriors junior Calah Savage went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in, junior Jaclyn Mounie went 1-for-1 with three RBIs and sophomore Katelyn Biando went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Senior Morgan Lowers went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and sophomore Kelly Lafferty went 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Nansemond River (8-2, 1-0) hosts Southampton High School on Wednesday.