SEBASTOPOL — Series by series. That is all the Cathedral softball team wants to think about, and Saturday, they wrapped up another and advanced to advance to the semifinals of the MHSAA Class 1A playoffs.

Cathedral plated 11 runs on 12 hits and managed to hold off Sebastopol en route to an 11-6 win.

“To get to South State has been a big goal and it feels good,” Cathedral head coach Gary Blackwell said. “We’re really peaking at the right time and everybody is coming to.”

The Lady Wave went for the kill early in the game, and nearly got it, posting five runs in the top of the first inning.

“We started off really good,” Blackwell said. “We were stealing bases, running well and getting good hits. Five runs off the bat is great.”

But Blackwell said he knew it was going to be a battle and Sebastopol gave the Lady Wave one the rest of the game.

Despite never trailing, Blackwell said he wished his team could’ve done better at putting away the Lady Bobcats.

“We just made way to many errors,” he said. “We could’ve shut it down a lot better. That kind of hurt us.”

Something that didn’t hurt the Lady Wave was the performance of the top of their lineup, with McKenzie Milligan and Baylee Graning each getting three hits on the night.

“Those two got on base for us, and once they get on, we have them stealing and getting around,” Blackwell said. “Having them on base helped us for sure.”

Sebastopol pulled within three at 8-5 heading into the seventh, but the Lady Wave scratched across three runs in the top half of the inning to push even further ahead.

Then, in the bottom of the inning, Milligan stepped up in the field to seal the win.

“We had a huge double play in the seventh that helped us out,” Blackwell said. “Milligan was able to catch a ball and then get the runner out on first as well. That double play really put the icing on the cake.”

Marty Lewis tossed a complete game for the Lady Wave, striking out two.

The next round becomes interesting for the Lady Wave because of the potential opponent — rival St. Al.

“That is what we are pulling for,” Blackwell said. “We want it.”

St. Al defeated Nanih Waiya in the first game of their second round series, putting them just a win away from a showdown with Cathedral.