In three games this season, the difference between Cathedral and Adams County Christian School’s softball teams in the season series is one run.

The run advantage favors the Lady Rebels, but all three games were decided in the games’ final innings.

The most recent was in Monday’s South State game, where ACCS walked off in the bottom of the seventh, and the Lady Rebels rode the victory to the South State championship game, where they fell to Silliman Institute, but secured the No. 2 spot in the MAIS state tournament Saturday in Brandon.

Cathedral head coach Gary Blackwell can’t help but think his team’s close games against the Lady Rebels are a good sign as two of Natchez’s schools prepare for the state tournament.

“It has us sitting pretty good, because all of our games being close means good pitching on both sides,” Blackwell said. “If our pitching holds up and we can get our batting going we can have a pretty good showing.”

The Lady Greenwave enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed from the South State bracket, slated to face No. 1 seed Leake Academy. Cathedral rallied behind a strong three-game performance from pitcher Elizabeth Smith last Saturday.

Blackwell said his team responded well to a weekend packed full of softball games, and his senior pitcher is used to the demands of sometimes pitching two to three games in one day.

“I just know what I have to do to get my team where it needs to be,” Smith said. “My body is just so tired, just have to work myself back up.”

Meanwhile, ACCS is scheduled to face No. 3 seed North Delta, and coach Tate Lipscomb said his squad is perhaps playing its best ball of the season.

“I think we’re starting to click,” he said. “We’re starting to hit the ball, and that’s something we’ve been missing.”

The No. 2 seed is the highest the Lady Rebels have secured in the class of 2017’s tenure.

“I’m pretty pumped up to play,” senior Anna McDaniel said. “I think our confidence is out of the roof. We’ve grown as a team and Saturday and Monday we really grew together. We’ve become the team we’ve been working to become.”

Fellow senior Bailey Boyd credits Lipscomb, who is in his first season as head coach, for helping molding a team of athletes into a cohesive unit.

“He’s brought us together and made us work harder than we’ve ever worked before,” Boyd said. “He’s put in our heads to do the little things right — the fundamentals.”

Blackwell’s concern is Cathedral’s defense. The loss to ACCS was a matter of an outfield error that allowed the Lady Rebel’s Lexie Emanuel to hit all four bases.

In Tuesday’s practice, Blackwell said he tested players at different positions during infield practice, to find the best fit.

“We’re going to mix some things up this week, moving some people around, trying to work things out between when Elizabeth is pitching and when Marty (Lewis) is pitching,” Blackwell said.

Lipscomb said North Delta features a strong pitcher, who will test the Lady Rebels’ hitters.

“Having a good pitcher is very clutch,” he said of his opponent. “She has a good rise ball and a good drop ball. She doesn’t give up many hits.”

The first year coach said the key for his squad is to continue taking advantage of opportunities at the plate, while also playing solid defense.