RIDGELAND — The Centreville Academy Lady Tigers were close enough to taste it.

Monday started off rough with a 5-4 loss in the Class AA South State tournament to Marshall. But the Lady Tigers rebounded, defeated Columbia 5-4 in game 2, and made it to the state championship game.

Centreville faced defending champs Marshall again, but lost 3-1 on an unearned run, coach Mark Mann said.

“It was close,” he said. “It was a play here that we didn’t make and a play there they did make.

“Of course it’s disappointing to get that far and that close, but I’m still proud of the girls.”

Though things didn’t turn out as hoped, the Lady Tigers aren’t done yet. Their status in the Top 2 in their division qualified them to play in the Overall Tournament.

“This was pretty tough on (the girls), anytime you get to the final round and lose it’s always disappointing,” Mann said. “But we’ll regroup and go to overall Wednesday.”

Centreville will face Hillcrest Christian at 11 a.m. on the campus of Mississippi College.