MARKSVILLE, La. — In the last game of the regular season, the Vidalia Lady Vikings got an important win as they defeated the Marksville Lady Tigers 12-2 in five innings Monday afternoon.

With the win, Vidalia finished 7-3 in District 3-3A that will set up a showdown with the Bunkie Lady Panthers at 5 p.m. today in Jena, La., for second place and a guaranteed berth in the Class 3A playoffs. The loser may get a wild-card spot or may miss the playoffs altogether.

After a scoreless first inning, Vidalia (16-10) took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the second inning. The Lady Vikings then took command of the game with an eight-run outburst in the top of the third inning.

Trailing 12-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, Marksville almost forced the game to go another inning instead of being 10-run ruled, but came up one run shot.

Chelsea McElwee and Tori Lemoine led Vidalia’s 13-hit attack with two doubles each. McElwee went 3-for-4 and Lemoine was 2-for-3. Of the Lady Vikings’ 13 hits, eight went for extra bases — seven doubles and a triple by Kassi Randall, who also went 2-for-3.

Franklin County 7, Columbia 6

BUDE — The Franklin County Lady Bulldogs fell behind early, but they would not be denied as they rallied to defeat the Wildcats Monday night in Division 7-3A action.

And as it turned out, Franklin County (15-6, 5-2) did not need to win out to clinch a spot in the Class 3A South State Playoffs after all. That was because of division-leading North Pike’s win over Columbia earlier in the day.

It was supposed to have been Senior Recognition Night, but that was held off until Thursday. The seniors’ names were announced prior to the game, but with so much on the line, head coach Dana Smith wanted her team to be focused on the task at hand.

Two Lady Bulldog errors led to two of the Lady Wildcats’ three runs in the top of the first inning.

After Columbia scored another run in the top of the second inning, Franklin County started its comeback with four runs in the bottom of the second to tie the score at 4-4.

Undaunted, Columbia retook the lead with two runs in the top of the third. But those would be the last runs that the Lady Wildcats would score the rest of the game.

“We got down quick, but they fought back,” Smith said.

“My JV team did an excellent job of cheering them up.”

Franklin County scored one run in the bottom of the third and then scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Melissa McFarland, who allowed one earned run in the top of the first inning, returned to the mound in the fifth and pitched three scoreless innings and had six strikeouts to pick up the win. Kacey Smith allowed three runs in her three innings of work.

Kristin Oglesby went 2-for-3 while Smith and Karlee Mullins each had a double for the Lady Bulldogs.