SOUTH PORTLAND – The Edward Little softball team said farewell to the SMAA a little sooner than they hoped Tuesday afternoon.

Uncharacteristic fielding miscues by the No. 10 Red Eddies spelled a 7-2 loss to the No. 7 South Portland Red Riots in a Western Class A preliminary.

EL (9-8) will compete in the KVAC and Eastern Class A beginning next season.

Four errors led to the Red Riots’ runs and effectively abbreviated Edward Little’s playoff stay.

“We took ourselves right out of the game early on,” said Edward Little coach Gene Keene. “You can’t expect to play shoddy defense this time of year and win games. It was just too much to overcome.”

The Eddies edged the Riots 1-0 in Auburn last month, but South Portland’s offense has improved dramatically since then. Edward Little hurler Brittany Short survived a two-on, none-out jam in the first inning but couldn’t escape the bottom of the second.

South Portland left fielder Lindsey Howland led off with a routine grounder to third base, but the ensuing throw was high, allowing Howland to steam into second. Second baseman Amanda Bean followed with a bunt in front of home plate which she beat out to put runners on the corners.

Katie Edwards ripped the next pitch for a single to score Howland.

A sacrifice bunt by third baseman Amanda Aceto moved up the runners, and rightfielder Kristin Kill followed with a base hit off Edward Little shortstop Krista Wotherspoon’s glove for a 2-0 advantage.

One out later, Red Riots centerfielder and co-captain Nichole Cousins roped a triple down the left field line to score two more runs.

EL got one back in the top of the third on a South Portland error, a wild pitch by Red Riots senior pitching standout Morgan O’Donnell and a passed ball by catcher Krystal Shannon. The Riots struck again in their half of the third, however, on a pair of two-out errors, a base hit and a passed ball to make it 6-1.

South Portland’s lead could have been even bigger without a pair of gorgeous defensive plays by Wotherspoon and a dazzling running catch by rightfielder Kendra Keene.

“They made some great plays,” said South Portland coach Jack DiBiase. “They threw some major leather at us.”

Offense was a different story. EL didn’t get a hit until second baseman Lauren Hussar led off the fifth with a clean single. South Portland made it 7-1 in the bottom of that inning on two hits and an error, but the Red Eddies made some noise in the sixth.

With one out, centerfielder Cathy McKinney, Wotherspoon and Kendra Keene all singled to load the bases.

Hussar followed with a flyout to medium right center field. Cousins made the catch and fired a strike to catcher Krystal Shannon, who tagged out McKinney to defuse the threat.

“They made a big play,” Keene said. “I tried to get something going. She (Cousins) was moving the other way, but she made the play. This time of year, that’s what it’s all about.”

The Red Eddies did not go quietly in the seventh, either. With two out and none on, first baseman Jamie Morrison drew a walk from O’Donnell. A throwing error kept the inning alive, and a pair of wild pitches cut the deficit to 7-2. Substitute leftfielder Brittany Boisvert grounded out to second base on a 3-1 pitch, however, and Edward Little’s respectable season came to a painful end.

“Going in, we were hoping to have a winning season,” Keene said. “The kids worked hard to get to that point. That’s a feather in their cap.”