NATCHEZ — In both teams’ final game before the playoffs, Cathedral High School and Franklin County High School decided to give their players one more chance to see live pitching.

And it was Cathedral’s Caleb Upton who had the advantage Thursday night, as he struck out seven batters en route to a 10-0 Green Wave victory.

Cathedral and Franklin County now have to wait eight days before postseason play begins, and Green Wave head coach Craig Beesley said he was pleased with both his offense and pitching.

“I think we’re really starting to peak at the right time going into the playoffs,” Beesley said. “That’s all you can hope for as a coach, that your team is peaking when the playoffs come around, and it seems that we are.”

Franklin County head coach Brent Calcote said he was impressed with Upton, who held his team to no hits while issuing just one walk.

“Caleb Upton did a good job,” Calcote said. “We’ve got to get better, or it’s going to be a short playoff season for us.”

After a scoreless top of the first inning, Cathedral plated three runs to set the tone early. Kyle Bradley hit a double that scored Upton. Blake Martin then scored on a fielder’s choice groundout by Austin Chauvin, and Jadarius Anderson singled in Bradley to make it 3-0 Cathedral.

A bases-clearing double by Upton plated three more runs for Cathedral in the bottom of the second. Upton then scored on a fielding error by Franklin County second baseman Zayne Mullins, with Martin being safe at first. Martin came around to score on a fielder’s choice groundout by Chauvin, and Bradley came home on a fielder’s choice groundout by Turner Janette.

With a 9-0 lead, Cathedral tacked on one more run in the bottom of the third. After trying to steal third base, Daniel Huffines came home on a throwing error by catcher Trey Bailey.

The game was called after five innings due to the 10-runs-after-five mercy rule. Franklin County starter Derrick Brumfield took the loss, giving up 10 runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings pitched. Reliever Bernard Selmon pitched the remainder of the game for the Bulldogs.

Both teams return to action next Friday for postseason play. Cathedral rose to 12-6 on the season, while Franklin County fell to 11-7.