The Lyle-Pacelli baseball team fell into a hole that it couldn’t climb out of as it lost to Cleveland 7-6 in Marcusen Park Tuesday.

LP (8-5 overall) trailed 6-0 in the third inning as the Clippers drew four walks and collected two hits in the top of the third to score three in the frame. Slow starts have been a trending problem for the Athletics, who have now lost three in a row.

“We’ve got to come out with more intensity and fire to start games. We are falling behind nearly every single game and we can’t have it anymore,” LP head coach Brock Meyer said. “It’s going to be a quick playoff if that’s the way it’s going to go because the pitching is going to be harder and it’s going to be tougher to come back.”

LP scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth as Bryce Strouf had a key RBI to pull the Athletics within 6-5, but the Clippers (5-2 overall) scored on an RBI single by Shane Rogers to go up 7-5 in the top of the seventh.

Jayden Lewis had an RBI ground-out to score a run in the seventh for LP, but Tyson Anderson popped out to end the game with runners on first and second.

“The younger kids are starting to get it a little,” Meyer said. “They started to battle and they got back in the game, but in baseball you can’t fall behind by that much.”

Cleveland 1 1 1  3 0 0  1  —  7  7  2

LP 0 0 0  1 4 0  1  —  6  6  3

LP pitching: Cory Weber (L) 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 6 ER, 2 K, 1 HBP; Bryce Strouf, 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 R, 1 K; Zach Bollingberg, 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 K

LP hitting: Cole Walter, 0-for-3, R, BB; Bollingberg, 0-for-4, R; Jed Nelson, 1-for-3, 2 R, BB; Weber, 2-for-3, 2 R, BB; Strouf, 1-for-3, RBI, SB, BB; Sam Nelsen, 1-for-3, RBI; Jayden Lewis, 1-for-4, RBI; Tyson Anderson, 1-for-3, SB, BB; Isaiah Clennon, 0-for-3