Sometimes the most important key to winning in baseball is having a short memory. It’s a sport in which some of the best players are only successful at the plate once every 10 times; where two teams can meet for a second or third time and a change in the starting pitcher — just one of the nine players on the field — can make all the difference.

Washington learned that lesson last Friday. The Pam Pack had won three of its last four 2-A Eastern Plains Conference games, including a 4-2 win at home over the very same Jaguars. The lone loss in that span came at the hands of top-ranked North Johnston. The Panthers edged the Pam Pack, 3-2, to hang on to their undefeated league record.

The trip to Farmville Central presented an opportunity for Washington to continue climbing the conference standings. Instead, the Jaguars blanked the Pam Pack, 10-0.

“The guys weren’t expecting to play (last Friday). They just weren’t ready to play,” coach Kevin Leggett said on Tuesday, referencing the fact that weather almost caused the game to be postponed.

“It showed in the score. We worked really hard (Monday) in practice to keep them focused. We told them there are only two weeks left. There’s no time not to be focused. … Lately we’ve been working on hitting a lot. Hopefully it starts to show like it did in the last two innings.”

Putting the recent, lopsided loss behind them worked out well for the boys. They bounced back almost immediately with a 4-2 win over Southwest Edgecombe on Tuesday. Their pitching, defense behind the mound and bats all seemed to come back to life as if the unfortunate Farmville Central encounter never happened.

The shaky defense from Farmville could have carried over and it almost did. Washington gave up a pair of hits in the top of the first on Tuesday. It bounced back thanks to a pair of routine plays coupled with Cooper Anderson gunning down a runner trying to steal third base.

The Pam Pack then settled and retired the vising Cougars in order in the second and third stanzas. The boys conceded a run in the fourth. Other than a fluky run in the seventh thanks to a botched call by the infield umpire, that was it for Southwest Edgecombe’s scoring.

Washington matched the Cougars’ run in the fourth with one of its own in the bottom of the frame. The boys kept making contact with the ball and eventually found the gaps. With two on and two outs, Tripp Barfield, who also had a strong night toeing the rubber, bounced a base hit through the right side to plate a pair of runs. Chris Sulc pushed across an insurance run to give Washington a 4-1 lead late.

“We’re a late-inning hitting team,” Leggett said. “I wish we could do it the entire game, but I’ll take a win any time. The last two innings, we were really putting it in play. They started finding holes.”

It’s not about forgetting the shortcomings. Washington proved its ability to quickly learn from them and move on. It’s something that will pay off in this final stretch of the season and in the playoffs.

The Pam Pack travels to bottom-feeding Beddingfield on Friday and then wraps up the season with the conference’s top two teams in North Pitt and North Johnston.