ANAHEIM Frustration is an emotional state, not a physical property.

But Friday, in its 3-2 loss at Esperanza, the Thousand Oaks High baseball team found it to be expressed in some very concrete, numerical ways.

Be it an 0-for-11 day with runners in scoring position, the 11 runners left on base (eight in scoring position) or the fact the Lancers stranded runners in each of the final six innings leaving the bases loaded twice and it's not hard to figure out the prevailing emotion.

"It is frustrating," said Thousand Oaks coach Frank Mutz. "It's very unfortunate. We left too many runners on base."

That frustration was only magnified, of course, by the fact the loss came in a CIF-Southern Section Division I playoff semifinal, ending Thousand Oaks' season at 25-5-1. Esperanza, which had lost in the quarterfinals in its last five playoff appearances, advances with a 22-7 record.

"We had the opportunities," said Jeff Johnson, whose RBI double gave the Lancers a last-gasp opportunity in the seventh. "We just couldn't capitalize. We strung hits together, but just couldn't get that one big hit."

The flip side of Thousand Oaks' frustration, and missed opportunity, was the performance of Esperanza pitcher Jonathan Pettibone (8-2), who went the distance for the win, working around 10 hits, three hit batters and two walks while striking out five.

"I was trying to go my hardest," said Pettibone. "I gave up some pitches up, and they hit them. And I realized I had to get those outs, because I wasn't getting the run support. So I just rared back and got my outs when I needed them."

Pettibone needed 131 pitches, 79 of them strikes, to go the distance.

"He battled," said Mutz. "We needed a break, and we didn't get one."

Thousand Oaks' difficulty in scoring runs was hard to imagine after Kyle Jones hit Pettibone's first pitch for his fifth homer of the season. But Pettibone was undeterred "Actually, I liked it," he said; "it made me battle more" while the Lancers kept doing enough to create opportunities, but not to cash them in.

It wasn't until there were two outs in the bottom of the seventh that they scored again, on a double down the left-field line by Jeff Johnson, scoring Jeff Bandy. But after Tom Hocutt walked, Pettibone struck out Harrison Kane to complete the Lancers' afternoon of frustration.

It was a shared performance, for better and worse. Nine Thousand Oaks players had hits; seven had opportunities with runners in scoring position.

"Whenever we're down, we always find a way to get back in the game in the last inning," said Johnson. "This time, we just couldn't come through."

Esperanza had tied the game in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Parker Berberet, took the lead on P.J. Spinazze's solo homer in the third, and added the run that proved to be the difference in the fourth, when Ryan Dunn's two-out bloop single off reliever Chad Smith scored Niko Gallego. All three runs were charged to Johnson (5-3), who worked three-plus innings and gave up seven hits.

"They're definitely a good hitting club," said Johnson. "There were a lot of hits where I thought I made a good pitch."

Esperanza's offensive day wasn't that different from the Lancers'. The Aztecs had eight hits and stranded runners in all but one inning. But Esperanza finished 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and those two hits ultimately were the difference.

"When you get into the playoffs, those little things matter," said Mutz. "They have a good ballclub, and I'm sure they have a chance of winning this thing."

Thousand Oaks' own bid to win the division ends two games sooner than the Lancers had hoped.

"I'm proud of our ballclub. I'm proud of the way the seniors went about their business and led us all season. I mean, 25-5-1 is a pretty good record, and I'm proud of our program and the kids," said Mutz.