NATCHEZ — Cathedral High School softball head coach Gary Blackwell watched his team grow up before his eyes in a 5-4 victory against Sebastopol High School in the first game of the second round of the MHSAA Class 1A playoffs Tuesday night.

The Lady Green Wave jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings played, but then an all too familiar sight took place for Blackwell — his young and mostly inexperienced team made mistakes.

In the top of the fourth inning, Cathedral committed two errors that produced two runs for the Lady Bobcats. An RBI single later in the inning would tie the game.

“That’s the kind of thing we’ve done all year,” said Blackwell in reference to a team that boasts one senior, two juniors and one sophomore. “But we told the girls before this game that this is a new season.”

After a scoreless fourth inning, poise and maturity took center stage for a 10-11 Cathedral squad. With one runner on base and one out in the sixth inning, Sebastopol’s Whitney Billings lined a shot to right field.

Cathedral sophomore Claire Upton picked up the rolling base hit and threw the ball immediately to second base, allowing the Lady Green Wave to tag out the Sebastopol base runner who overran the bag.

“Things like Claire’s play and eighth grader Emily Rasco, who struggled hitting this season, getting two hits was great to see,” Blackwell said. “I liked what I saw.”

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Caroline Kaiser reached base on a walk and advanced to second base on a wild pitch thrown by Lady Bobcats pitcher Shelby Barrett. Mckenzie Milligan blasted a liner through the infield to score Kaiser and Mackenzie Watts drove Kaiser in with an RBI single of her own to give Cathedral a 5-3 lead.

The game was far from over though. With runners at second and third base with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Cathedral’s Elizabeth Smith threw a wild pitch that scored Barrett. As Barrett slid in for the fourth run of the game, Smith’s shin became a casualty of Barrett’s cleats.

With a 1-2 pitch count, Smith dug in on the mound with fans screaming “one more pitch!”

With the tying run at third, Smith pitched to Watts, who drilled a grounder to Milligan. Milligan rushed over, picked up the ground ball and threw the final out.

“That’s what we’re doing now,” Blackwell said. “We’re making some plays that we weren’t making during the year. We’re stepping up, and we’re coming around at the right time of the year.”

After the game, Smith, who finished the game with nine strikeouts, lifted up her pant leg to reveal a large bruise on her leg.

“She’s a competitor,” Blackwell said. “She’s tough. She knows how to battle.”

With a 1-0 series lead, Cathedral plays at Sebastopol at 4 p.m. today. Game three will follow if needed.