Considering her .185 season batting average and the fact she’d only had one hit in her last seven games, there was a good reason for Ashley Coley not to be in the starting lineup Thursday.

When Warren Central faced its most critical situation of the season, however, she was exactly the right person to get the job done.

Coley ripped a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning to give Warren Central the lead, and it went on to beat Olive Branch 7-2 in Game 1 of a Class 6A playoff series at Lucy Young Field.

It was just the sixth hit of the season for Coley, who spent the first four innings playing right field but not batting.

“I was just not thinking about it and not getting nervous about it. Just going up there and hitting,” Coley said. “It was awesome. It was really cool.”

The Lady Vikes (15-6) scored five runs in the fifth inning and will take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series to Olive Branch. Game 2 is today at 5 p.m. If a Game 3 is needed, it’ll follow immediately afterward.

“It makes you feel a little better. More relaxed, more calm not being pushed against the wall,” WC coach Dana McGivney said. “You can play more relaxed, and they have to come get us.”

WC pitcher Darby Gain allowed one earned run in a complete-game victory. She walked two batters, struck out five, and gave up seven hits.

One of those hits came in the top of the fifth inning, when Danna Sullivan lifted a fly ball to deep left field. It sailed over the head of WC’s Morgan Stewart, who was playing in, and rolled to the corner.

Stewart slipped in some mud and wet grass near the fence and, as she struggled to get her footing, Sullivan rounded the bases for an inside-the-park home run and a 2-1 lead for Olive Branch.

Warren Central, however, answered immediately.

Four walks loaded the bases and brought in the tying run in the bottom of the fifth. It also set things up perfectly for Coley.

The sophomore delivered a clutch hit that split the gap between the left and center fielders. All three runners scored as Coley wound up on second with a double that put WC ahead 5-2.

“I didn’t have a doubt in the world that she was going to get a good hit, and she did exactly that,” McGivney said.

Coley and Coco Fultz, who had walked, later scored on an error to make it 7-2.

The outburst gave Warren Central 19 runs in its last two games, after it had scored a total of six in the five games before that.

“It always feels good to win, whether you come from behind or stay ahead. They’re a scrappy little club and they don’t quit,” McGivney said. “We finally put some hits together and we got some runners on base and scored some runs, which is what we’ve been missing the last few games.”