CANTON — Cathedral has been relying on good hitting, good pitching and good defense to get through the playoffs. In Game 3 of the South State championship series Saturday, the pitching and defense were there, but the hitting was nowhere to be found.

For the second game in a row, the Green Wave struggled at the plate, and it cost them in a 3-2 loss to East Webster that ended their season.

Cathedral could only manage two hits, although one of them was a two-run home run by Preston Edwards, and lost the game in controversial fashion in the bottom of the seventh.

With the bases loaded and two outs in a tie game, Cathedral coach Craig Beesley and the Green Wave players all thought Edwards had struck out the Wolverine batter on a 2-2 pitch to end the inning.

However, the umpire called the pitch a ball to force a full count, and on the next pitch, Edwards walked in the winning run.

“He threw that pitch and everybody started walking off the field back to the dugout,” Beesley said. “Even the batter turned and started to go back to the dugout. But the umpire called it a ball. Mentally that has to work on you as a pitcher. You throw a ball down the middle and don’t get the call.”

The bases-loaded walk put a sour end to an outstanding performance on the mound for Edwards. The junior pitched a complete game on one day’s rest and allowed just seven hits, all of them singles.

“Preston battled all game long,” Beesley said. “He pitched a heck of a game today. We had a few controversial calls today and none of them went our way. That’s what makes it hurt even worse.”

But while Edwards pitched a great game, the Green Wave bats were silent for the second game in a row.

“We didn’t hit the ball as well as we hoped,” Beesley said. “We didn’t swing the bat well all the way down the lineup and that caught up with us today. We’ve come out on top in a lot of close games but today was just one of those days. We couldn’t get the run when we needed it.”

While Beesley was disappointed in how the season ended, he said he couldn’t have been more proud of the way they played in the game and throughout the season.

“I can’t say enough how well we played today,” Beesley said. “Nobody gave us a chance to make it this far. For us to accomplish what we did and make it to the South State finals is great. The kids are winners.”