No loss is a good loss. However, there’s always something a team can learn and grow from in a loss. Such was the case with Washington’s 5-4 shortcoming at the hands of Riverside on Tuesday.

The Pam Pack committed two errors in the game, including a crucial fielding error at third base in the first inning. After conceding a leadoff single, Tripp Barfield overthrew a play to first base. The mistake allowed Austin Lee to score the first run and positioned Hunter Kinion on third base, allowing him to easily cross on Ty Raynor’s single to the left side.

That first inning alone refocused coach Kevin Leggett and the players. Washington turned right around for a game at Edenton on Wednesday, so the team didn’t have a chance to take some of those errors and key in on them at practice.

Leggett hoped that Tuesday’s outing, at the least, served as a wake-up call for the team; that the boys can’t just go through the motions.

Leggett said this kind of loss was a sort of commonplace in the not-too-distant past. However, he expects this team — consisting largely of upperclassmen — to play a crisp game and avoid those aforementioned mistakes.

It’s what’s helped the Pam Pack win four of its first six contests. The offense scored at least seven runs in each game up until Tuesday. Meanwhile, the defense did an admirable job by holding opponents to 10 runs over the course of a four-game winning streak.

It makes all the difference. Washington’s winning ways early in the season makes Leggett believe this loss should sting more than it would have in the past.

“The last few years, losses were kind of common — especially before last year. I think a lot of guys, at the end of the year, it kind of hurt them a little more,” he said. “Losses weren’t much because they were used to it. Here, they know they should be in every game and they should be able to win the game, so it should hurt them more than when you’re having a losing record.”

At the same time, while the loss may have halted a four-game streak, Washington again showed the ability to mount a comeback. Tyler Harrell’s base clearing double in the bottom of the six plated three two-out runs, cutting Washington’s deficit to just 5-4.

They ran away with the game in a similar fashion in their last game against Riverside. The two teams were deadlocked at 2-2 when the Pam Pack erupted for five runs in the top of the seventh to win 7-2.

Again, though, it goes back to not wanting to need a late rally to earn the win.

“I know we can comeback, it’s just a matter of let’s not get in that situation,” Leggett said. “We had runners on the whole night (on Tuesday). Every inning we had runners on. We couldn’t get the ball to drop. Usually it would drop or they would make an error. It just didn’t happen.”