NATCHEZ — It was senior night for the Adams County Christian School softball team Tuesday, but it was a freshman that wound up being the hero.

With the Lady Rebels tied 4-4 with Tensas Academy in the bottom of the seventh inning, freshman Jordan Petty drove a ball into the left-centerfield gap to score Ashton Mason from second base and secure the win for ACCS.

ACCS head coach Forrest Foster said he shed a few tears before the game during the presentation for the five seniors — including his granddaughter Braxtyn Elveston.

“Anytime you have senior night like this, it’s emotional for them,” Foster said.

After the festivities were over, it was Tensas that started off strong. The Lady Chiefs pushed across a run in the third inning and two runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead.

Foster said he challenged his team at that point.

“I reminded them that Tensas beat us the last game of the season last year,” he said. “That kind of sparked them. Overall, I thought every girl on the team contributed tonight, and it was a good win.”

The Lady Rebels took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Senior Abby Givens started the inning with a seeing-eye single. Tory Laird then blooped a single over second base. Elveston followed with a walk, and Mason, a senior, crushed a three-RBI double to tie the game. Senior Nikki Worthey gave the Lady Rebels the lead one batter later with an RBI-single that scored Mason.

Tensas did not make it easy on the Lady Rebels, however. The Lady Chiefs managed to collect three hits in the top of the seventh and Madison Keyes singled in Haley Sharp to tie the game at four.

“I was proud of them tonight,” Tensas coach Jay James said. “We came together last Tuesday after losing the district championship that we should have won. We played well enough to win, and I am pleased with their effort.”

Mason started the Lady Rebels seventh-inning rally with a single, Worthey followed with a single and Petty’s double ended the game.

Foster said the win was big for his team heading into a district-matchup with Brookhaven Academy today.

“Tensas has come a long way, and they are a very scrappy little team,” Foster said. “We didn’t want to go into tomorrow depressed after a loss, and this shows we can come back. It was a big win.”

Foster said he would miss his five seniors — Elveston, Mason, Jessica Reynolds, Givens and Worthey — after this season.

“They’ve been with me through thick and thin,” he said.

ACCS (16-13) will face Brookhaven at 4 p.m. today. Tensas Academy will start its playoff run at 11:45 a.m. Saturday against the winner of MAIS District 7-A, who is still to be determined.