NATCHEZ &8212; Neighborhood rivals got together in the schoolyard Thursday afternoon, and neither side seemed happy with the outcome.

The Cathedral Lady Waves (1-0) and Natchez Lady Bulldogs (0-2) faced off at the Natchez-Adams softball complex, with Cathedral taking a 9-4 win.

&8220;If I had to rate it between one and 10, I&8217;d give it a six,&8221; said new Cathedral head coach Pam Clayton. &8220;We didn&8217;t hit the ball well. Some of the girls went after the ball, but others didn&8217;t go after it as hard as I thought they could.&8221;

&8220;Overall, for what we have, I thought we did fair,&8221; said Natchez head coach Charlie Williams. &8220;We showed some improvement out there. Pitching, we struggled more than we did the first game. She walked more batters than she did last time.&8221;

Everything went the Lady Waves&8217; way early as they built a 9-0 lead in the opening two innings.

Mae Durkin and Anna Huffines each drove in runs during the first inning, and Brandi McGraw drove in two in the second.

Following that, the Cathedral bats slowed down while the Natchez defense heated up, leading to no more runs for Cathedral on the day.

Natchez finally struck in the bottom of the third, getting two base hits before Tori Paxton scored on an error.

Cathedral removed its starters entering the bottom of the fifth.

Kanesha Jackson and Shaynna Bradley both scored in the sixth, and Tonisha Coach scored the final run in the seventh for Natchez.

McGraw took the win on the mound for the Lady Waves, while Jackson took the loss for the Lady Bulldogs.

Clayton said that while her team had headed into the game with a few goals, she felt playing a team filled with players that her girls knew may have played a role in the sloppy play.

&8220;They were supposed to be working on specific things,&8221; Clayton said. &8220;I wish it had been a little bit of a closer game. I think it was hard playing against so many girls they all knew. Hopefully, next week against St. Al that won&8217;t be a problem, because they don&8217;t know them and they don&8217;t like them.&8221;

Williams said he would continue working toward the playoffs.

&8220;Right now games like this don&8217;t mean a hill of beans to me,&8221; he said. &8220;I&8217;m trying to find the right combinations of players and the right positions to help us later on down the road. I feel like we&8217;re doing that.&8221;

Natchez will next take on Hazlehurst at home Tuesday. Cathedral will visit St. Al Monday.