NATCHEZ — Cathedral certainly didn’t play its best game of the season Thursday night, but thanks to a defensive meltdown by Weir in the bottom of the fourth inning, it was enough for the Green Wave to cruise to a 10-0 win over the Lions in Game 1 of their Class 1A quarterfinal series.

“It didn’t feel like a 10-run win tonight,” Cathedral coach Craig Beesley said. “We weren’t really in the game mentally in the first couple of innings. In the first and second innings we could have scored several runs but we didn’t have good discipline at the plate and didn’t hit with runners in scoring position.”

Cathedral loaded the bases with less than two outs in both the first and second innings, but only scored one run, on a first-inning Caleb Johnson sacrifice fly.

The second inning was especially frustrating, as the Green Wave had the bases loaded with nobody out but couldn’t score thanks to a pop up, a botched squeeze play and a ground out.

Cathedral did score two runs in the third inning on a RBI double by Tyler Ballard and a run-scoring single by Barrett Young.

But even that inning was marred by bad baserunning that potentially cost Cathedral some more runs.

After Young’s single scored Ballard, Collin Hammons ran through third base coach Ron Rushing’s stop sign and was easily thrown out at the plate.

“We really didn’t do anything well tonight,” Beesley said. “Hitting, running the bases, fielding. It was one of those days where we didn’t perform well.”

But while Cathedral was sloppy the first three innings, it was nothing compared to Weir’s defensive implosion in the fourth.

After Hunter Foster led off the inning with a single, Aaron White hit a deep fly ball to right field that was dropped by right fielder Dré Ramos, allowing Foster to score easily.

White went all the way around to third on the error and then scored when the relay throw to third went skittering past the uncovered base.

Daniel Huffines then walked and stole second. He went to third base when catcher Darrin Medders’ throw went into the outfield and scored when centerfielder J.R. Hall bobbled the ball while trying to pick it up.

Caleb Upton and Ballard then walked, which set the stage for Johnson’s RBI single to make the score 7-0.

Hammons then hit a hot shot to shortstop Brady Dewberry that knocked his glove off his hand for Weir’s fifth error of the inning that allowed two more runs to score.

The final run of the inning scored on a RBI groundout by Foster.

White made the 10-run lead stand up by retiring the Weir batters in order in the bottom of the fifth to end the game via the 10-run mercy rule.

White allowed only three hits in the game and struck out seven batters.

Cathedral pitchers have allowed only two runs in 15 innings so far in the playoffs.

“Aaron did a good job for us tonight,” Beesley said. “He always seems to come through for us. We’ve had real good pitching through the first two rounds.”

Game 2 of the series is at 6 p.m. today in Weir. Should the Lions win, a deciding Game 3 would take place Saturday at Chester Willis Field.