FARMERVILLE, La. &045; Those Vidalia Lady Vikings still can’t find a groove at the plate.

But thanks to pitching and defense, they found a way to get over that hump of the second round of the Class 2A playoffs and get into the state tournament. Miranda Doughty and Jenny Watson combined to take a 3-2 win over Farmerville and advance to the state tournament in Sulphur.

The Lady Vikings will face defending state champion at 3 p.m. Friday.

&uot;I’m not going to take anything away from Farmerville &045; they’re a super club,&uot; Vidalia head coach Gary Paul Parnham said. &uot;We’re not playing our best right now. I think we’re playing great defensively and getting good pitching. We’ve got to pick it up at the plate. We’ve got Riverside Friday, and we’ll have our hands full.&uot;

The Lady Vikings (22-6-1) broke through in the fifth inning with three runs to take control of the game. Lauren Clayton singled, and Emily Raley reached on an error by the right fielder to put runners at second and third with just one out.

Heather Miller drove them in with a triple for a 2-1 lead, and Miller scored on a fielder’s choice from Jenny Watson to take the two-run lead.

&uot;We’re just not hitting the ball well right now,&uot; Parnham said. &uot;Farmerville is tough. The scouting report I had on them was right. They’re like gnats &045; they won’t go away. Coming out of it, I feel lucky that we won.&uot;

Doughty came in for four innings of work in relief of Watson, who started and went two. The Farmgirls scored a run in the sixth inning to cut the Vidalia lead to one, but Doughty came back in the seventh and retired the first three batters she faced to end the game.

&uot;Miranda came in and pitched well,&uot; Parnham said. &uot;She pitched the same way she did all season.&uot;