The Natchez High Lady Bulldogs came back from a five-run deficit only to have the Vicksburg Lady Gators score three runs in the seventh inning for an 8-7 win Tuesday at the Natchez Girls Softball Complex.

It was definitely not the way Natchez head coach Sue Johnson wanted her team to end the regular season, especially after what the Lady Bulldogs accomplished.

On Sept. 28, Natchez defeated Forest Hill to win the Division 6-5A championship and on Sept. 30 won its inaugural invitational tournament.

&uot;It’s just like we didn’t want it bad enough this time,&uot; coach Johnson said. &uot;When we had opportunities, we didn’t capitalize.

&uot;It’s been a long time since we won our last regular-season game before going to the playoffs.&uot;

Vicksburg (16-12) got off to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Two runners scored on Natchez errors and Viola Howard had an RBI single.

&uot;Our bats woke before theirs did,&uot; said Vicksburg head coach Josh Harper. &uot;I think we caught them off guard a bit.&uot;

Natchez had an opportunity to get back in the game with two on and only one out in the bottom of the first.

Chrystal Sylvester then had an multiple-RBI, extra-base hit taken away when Vicksburg right centerfielder Emily Mathes made an outstanding catch.

Dalisa Lewis then flied out to left field to leave the runners stranded.

The Lady Bulldogs did not get a base hit until the bottom of the third inning when Crystal Brown and Christy Arnold each singled.

But once again, Natchez was unable to score.

The Lady Gators then scored two runs in the top of the fourth as Kayla Greenlee tripled to bring in Dana Daigre and Mathes.

Deanna Butts scored for Natchez in the bottom of the fourth. Karmethia Mazique scored on an error and Brown scored on an RBI single by Ashley Wood in the bottom of the fifth to close Vicksburg’s lead to two.

Natchez then scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 7-5 lead.

With one out, Natchez got a triple from Butts, and RBI triple from Sylvester, and RBI single form Lewis and a two-run, inside-the-park home run from Miracle Calcote.

Then the Lady Bulldogs did the unthinkable – they committed four errors in the top of the seventh that scored two of Vicksburg’s three runs, with the other run coming on Kayla Hudson’s RBI groundout.

&uot;Natchez is a much-improved ball club,&uot; coach Harper said. &uot;I think they’ll go far in the playoffs. One more inning and would have been a different game.&uot;

&uot;This will be our (Natchez High’s) 12th year going to the playoffs,&uot; coach Johnson said. &uot;Every year we’ve been knocked out in the first round.&uot;

Coach Johnson said she is looking for this year’s club to stop that streak.

Natchez High, which finished the regular season with a 16-8 record, will host a first-round game against the loser of the Biloxi-Moss Point game on Oct. 14 at a time to be determined.