NATCHEZ &045; The rain held off just long enough for Cathedral and Entreprise to play their softball game Thursday evening. Cathedral probably wishes it had started a little sooner.

The Lady Green Wave fell 10-2 to the Lady Jackets in a game that was marked by Cathedral’s inability to hit and untimely errors on defense.

Enterprise took an early lead, as its first two hitters, Kasey Rutland and Kaylin Burke, both came in to score in the first inning.

The Lady Green Wave fought back in the bottom of the second as Mae Durkin, pinch running for Jennifer Bernard, came into score on a Lady Jacket error.

Rutland scored again after reaching on an error. Later in the inning, Jana Brister reached on an error, driving Rutland in for the score.

In the fifth inning, with Entreprise leading 7-1, Cathedral errors again proved costly. Melanie Rutland and Lyndsey Everett both scored after Rutland reached on an error, then advanced on a second error.

The Lady Jackets exploited Cathedral’s six errors for four of their ten runs, building a commanding lead that threatened to force the game to be called on account of the 10-run mercy rule. Cathedral held the Lady Jackets scoreless over the final two innings to prevent that from happening, but it was already too late.

&uot;This is not at all what I was looking for,&uot; Binns said. &uot;We just couldn’t get the ball out of the infield.&uot;

In slow-pitch softball, trouble at the plate usually spells a loss. For the Lady Green Wave that’s been especially true this season. Cathedral has been inconsistent this season, sometimes pounding the ball around the field, sometimes barely able to scratch out a hit, as was the case Thursday.

On the other side of the diamond, the Lady Jackets were making solid contact constantly and hitting the ball with apparent ease.

&uot;We’re peaking at the right time,&uot; Sasser said. &uot;We struggled early in the year, but our hitting is coming around. We’ve always played good defense. We keep teams under five runs, and if you do that, you should be able to win.&uot;

With a win, the Lady Green Wave would have had the inside track to a spot in the playoffs. Cathedral will have to wait and see if it can grab a spot in the playoffs.

&uot;We really needed this game,&uot; Binns said.

For his part, Sasser seemed pleased just to escape Cathedral with a win. He said his team has had a lot of trouble against the Lady Green Wave in past years.

&uot;It’s always tough to win here,&uot; Sasser said. &uot;We’ve never performed like (we did tonight) before here. But that’s the great thing about softball; you never know, every day is a different day.&uot;

Enterprise secured at least third place in district with the win and thus a spot in the playoffs.