The waiting was the hardest part of Warren Central’s win over Natchez High Tuesday.

The Lady Vikes had to stand still as Natchez pitcher Lessley Farmer threw ball after ball, and resist the urge to swing at something. They did, drawing 14 walks in the process and rolling to an easy 12-0 win.

Anna Griffing was solid in a rare pitching start for the Lady Vikes, allowing two hits and four walks while striking out seven in four innings of work.

The victory gave Warren Central (12-8-1, 2-0) the Division 3-5A championship and ensured it will host the first two games of the playoffs at home. Despite remaining winless on the season, the Lady Bulldogs (0-5, 0-2) are also in the postseason since there are only two teams in the division.

“That’s a pretty big advantage, especially not having to travel so far,” said Lady Viking coach Dana McGivney, whose team will play one from the coast in the first round. “Hopefully having the first two games at home will be a big help to us.”

Warren Central didn’t need any homefield advantage on Tuesday. The Lady Vikes only had five hits in the game, including an inside-the-park grand slam by Mandy Fuller in the first inning, and instead relied on Farmer’s wildness to carry them to victory.

Farmer walked 14 batters and hit two others. Six of the walks came in the third inning, when Warren Central scored four runs without hitting a ball out of the infield — and while putting only two in play.

Four wild pitches, including a couple that hit the backstop on the fly, helped things along. So did an unusual triple steal, where Fuller started toward second and drew a throw, allowing Kaitlyn Patton to steal home and Karlee Herman

to steal third. Patton drew a late throw home on the play, which let Fuller steal second.

“(Farmer) had an injury and has been missing practice, and our other pitcher wasn’t here. We had to go with one pitcher and we hadn’t worked her, and it showed tonight,” Natchez coach David Day said.

The third-inning rally stretched Warren Central’s lead to 11-0, and it added one more run in the fourth when Kirsten Tackett tripled and scored on Mandy Bordelon’s RBI groundout.

The most exciting moment in the game came in the first inning, when Fuller strolled to the plate with the bases loaded. She lined a shot to center that was misjudged by the outfielder, and circled the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam that sent the Lady Vikes on their way.

“I think she came up and then she went back and then she was running after it,” Fuller said. “I never think home run until Coach Mac points me that way.”