POWDERSVILLE—Powdersville baseball coach Josh Smith said eliminating mental errors and executing timely hits are going to be two key aspects in getting his squad back on the right track.

The Patriots have hit an early skid, losing three straight region contests and moving their overall record to 1-5 on the season.

After losses to Landrum, Pendleton and Chesnee last week, Smith said his team has found a way to learn from some very experienced and well-coached teams.

“We’re staying positive. We just got done playing three teams that are very good and have a lot of experience,” Smith said. “We have a few things we have to work on, but our guys are working hard and it will pay off for them.”

Smith said Landrum’s offense was overwhelming, and early errors came back to bite his team against the region foe.

“They swung the bats extremely well,” Smith said. “They are an extremely well-coached ball club, and we had trouble dealing with their offense.”

In the 12-3 loss to Pendleton, Powdersville allowed three quick runs that put them behind early.

“They jumped out to a 3-0 lead and that put us in a hole early,” Smith said. “We made some mistakes, but we got back in it with three runs in the sixth, cutting the score to 9-3. They are just extremely well-coached and were able to hang on for a 12-3 win.”

Smith said finishing well has been a problem for his team, but he expects his young Patriot squad to pick it up in the days ahead.

“We’ve started games well, but mental errors and mistakes keep plaguing us,” Smith said. “We have to focus on making the routine play and the rest of that stuff will come. We’re not asking our guys to go out there and make spectacular plays, we just want them to do what they are capable of doing.”

“We’re starting to put things together,” he said. “Our bats are there, but we have to start getting the timely hits. The most important thing is getting offense when it matters.”

The Patriots took on Berea on Wednesday and will face Palmetto at home on Saturday at 1 p.m.