NATCHEZ — It took a little bit for the Cathedral Lady Wave to get warmed up, but once they did, watch out.

After a scoreless first inning, the Lady Wave scored nine runs in the second inning in an 11-0 thumping of Natchez High in the fast pitch softball opener for both teams.

“It took a little time for us to get started,” Cathedral coach Gary Blackwell said. “I told them to hang in there and keep going. I knew we’d come around.”

The catalyst for the second-inning explosion was Ginny Daggett’s leadoff home run to right field.

Once Daggett went deep, it seemed to loosen the team up as they scored eight more runs in the inning.

“That home run really got us started,” Blackwell said. “It just took us a little bit to get warmed up. I’m very pleased with the win.”

Another big blow in the inning was Mollie Devening’s two-run double. Devening was also the winning pitcher for the Lady Wave.

“That (second) inning was the killer,” Natchez High coach Amanda Wingfield said. “The first inning the defense was on and the pitching was wonderful. But in the second inning it’s like we forgot what to do. But after that we came back and played well in the third and fourth innings. We’re still just learning.”

Cathedral added to its lead with one run in the third and another in the fourth.

The game ended after the top of the fifth due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Natchez could only manage one hit in the game, Morgan Richmond’s single in the third inning. Shelby Guice was the losing pitcher for the Lady Bulldogs.

Wingfield said the loss is a learning experience for her young team.

“We’ve got a lot of players who have never played fast pitch softball before,” Wingfield said. “We just have to continue to work to get better. They’ve got a good attitude to do it.”

Cathedral will play in the Catholic Tournament at St. Aloysius on Saturday, while Natchez High doesn’t play again until they host Terry on March 3.