NATCHEZ &045; Armed with just one win in division a year ago, Cathedral head softball coach Cloyce Hinton drew the line in the sand at the start of the season.

Actually, he drew three lines.

Have fun.

Play as a team.

Make the playoffs.

The latter seemed like a bold move, but he had a feeling with this year’s bunch that something special could happen. So after a somewhat grueling non-district schedule and a tough run through Region 4-1A, here they are.

The Lady Wave is in the playoffs as the No. 4 seed and will play at Union at 3 p.m Saturday in a best-of-three series.

&uot;Coach told us about halfway through the season it doesn’t matter how we get into the playoffs &045; either in a limousine or in a buggy,&uot; senior leadoff

hitter Laura Huffines said. &uot;We’re 0-0 right now, and that’s how you’ve got to look at it. It’s an accomplishment. It’s what our goal was at the beginning of the season, and we reached it. It’s exciting.&uot;

What’s got them all tickled is it’s the first time for many of them to play in the postseason, the first time since Huffines and remaining seniors Leighton McDaniel, Kati Hinton and Kate Reid were in the ninth grade. Cathedral was in Class 2A in that 2000 playoff berth, and Clarkdale sent the Lady Wave home in two straight games.

This time the players are hoping it’s different, and they’ve improved considerably since the start of the season.

&uot;We accomplished all three of our goals, and they’re in good spirits,&uot; Cloyce Hinton said. &uot;We’ve been out there since July 30, and for about 2 1/2 months the girls

have worked hard. We’ve played good ball. You look at our record, and we’re 8-9, but two of those losses have been to Lawrence County and two have been to Natchez High. The only game we were not in was the first time we played Lawrence County.&uot;

The success has been largely in part due to pitching and defense since the team’s hitting has been up and down this season. Nothing can describe that more than its 1-0 win over Salem &045; probably the most rare occurrence you’ll find in a slow-pitch softball game.

&uot;We know our defense is going to be there,&uot; Huffines said. &uot;The games we’ve lost in division is because our hitting wasn’t there. It’s not because of our defense. Each junior and senior has been playing together since the ninth grade. We know each other. Our infield makes the plays.&uot;

The other part of that is pitching, and freshman Brandi McGraw has been the biggest surprise of the season. The Lady Wave came into the season not knowing who its top pitcher would be, and McGraw has stepped on the mound and has done a credible job.

&uot;We had no idea we would have nobody that could be consistent throwing strikes,&uot; Cloyce Hinton said. &uot;Brandi has come in, and I don’t know if she has walked more than one or two batters all year. The surprise this year if there has been a surprise is Brandi.&uot;

The hitting, however, has been the X factor for the Lady Wave for most of the season. Not that there has been any problems making contact &045; those days are gone &045; but there’s the difficulties of hitting those line drives that find their ways into a defender’s glove.

Juniors Jordan Chandler and Emily Stevens make the heart of the lineup for the Lady Wave, and Chandler is leading the team in batting average and runs batted in.

&uot;It’s been up and down,&uot; senior shortstop Leighton McDaniel said. &uot;We have some games where sometimes we pull it off and sometimes we don’t and our defense has to pull it out. But I think we’ve gotten better, and we’re going to have fun.&uot;

The bats may be the biggest make-or-break factor for the Lady Wave Saturday against a solid Union team. The squad has spent time earlier this week talking with Natchez High and head coach Leigh Ann Mason after the Lady Bulldogs posted a win over Union earlier this season.

&uot;It comes down to hitting a slow-pitch softball is making good decisions,&uot; Cloyce Hinton said. &uot;Swinging at a good pitch, not swinging at a bad pitch, not getting deep in the count and being able to judge the pitches. We’ve played ball games where we’ve hit the ball as hard as you want to hit it, but it’s been right at somebody. If they were one or two inches in either direction, you’re talking double or triple.&uot;