NATCHEZ &045; Another sluggish start for the Cathedral Green Wave really has head coach Craig Beesley starting to wonder.

Fortunately for him and his club, the Wave answered to take a 16-6 win in five innings over Bogue Chitto Thursday to stay undefeated in Division 7-1A.

But when the Bobcats got six runs in the first inning thanks to three Green Wave errors, that’s when the coaching staff, fans and everyone else involved really started to squirm.

Like a bad rash, that sour first inning flared up again for the Green Wave.

&uot;That’s the third game in a row we’ve given up multiple runs in the first inning,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;In the Vidalia tournament, we gave up six and three in the first innings, and we gave up six in the first tonight. Maybe we did take this team lightly. We kicked the ball behind (pitcher Charlie Lane) a couple of times, and if we would have made plays we would have gotten out of that first.&uot;

Give Bogue Chitto credit for putting the bat on the ball off Lane in the first, something the Bobcats couldn’t do against Patrick McDonough the next four. Not only did the left-hander help out after everything went wrong in the first inning, but the Green Wave answered with five runs in the bottom half and four in the next two innings.

The first inning lasted 35 minutes after the Bobcats sent 12 men to the plate, but soon after that the contest resembled the 14-0 win the Wave put on Bogue Chitto in the first meeting.

&uot;We had some pitching problems up there, and we came out a little flat,&uot; said senior Jeremy Davis, who had two doubles and scored two runs. &uot;I was glad we bounced back. We showed a little character by doing that. We’ve got to come out and be ready to play from the very first pitch. A lot of times we’ll come out a little flat.&uot;

The memory of that first inning didn’t linger as the Green Wave made just one error after that and the Bobcats piled up six &045; eight for the game. Cathedral led 13-6 after three before tacking on three in the fifth inning to enact the 10-run rule.

Andrew Ellard &045; back in the leadoff spot after starting the season there &045; singled in Jesse Morrison and Alex Middleton with two outs in the fifth to end it.

&uot;We hit the ball, and they made errors,&uot; BC head coach Adam Moak said of the first inning. &uot;Errors killed us. We’d get two quick outs and couldn’t get the third one.&uot;

The Green Wave turned the tide quick in the first inning off Bogue Chitto starter Joseph Hart. Davis and Lane came up with consecutive doubles &045; Lane’s shot called a ground-rule when it rolled under the fence &045; to spark the rally.

Lane, Drew Burns and Zack Calhoun got on and scored on wild pitches and an error.

In the second the Wave got four after two quick outs with Davis coming in on a wild pitch, Lane on an error, Burns on an error and Calhoun on a single from Morrison.

&uot;We got up there, and we hit a couple hard,&uot; Davis said. &uot;We had some two-out rallies up there. That always helps out a lot.&uot;

Cory Washington came in to pitch in the fourth for the Bobcats, but the result was more of the same. The Green Wave got four more with Lane doubling in a run, Calhoun singling Lane in and two more coming in on an error and a passed ball.

&uot;I told them we had to get some runs but let’s not try to get six right now,&uot; Beesley said of the first inning. &uot;We ended up getting five. Those (doubles) were too big hits in the first inning. We’re looking for a new leadoff hitter, and it’s starting to look pretty good. Andrew didn’t get a hit tonight, but he looked pretty good. He’ll come around. Those balls will start dropping for him.&uot;

McDonough, meanwhile, made the Bobcats put up eggs on the scoreboard after that first inning and didn’t allow a hit. Lane exited after the first inning, and McDonough retired eight straight &045; including a string of five consecutive strikeouts.

Lange Porter got on in the fifth and stole second with two outs, but McDonough got the next batter to strike out to end the game.

&uot;We don’t see a whole lot of left-handers, and it’s a different pitcher,&uot; Moak said. &uot;It was offspeed, and we’ve been struggling hitting offspeed all year. We’ve been struggling hitting the ball, but we did do better. We didn’t strike out as many times as we’ve been striking out.&uot;