Warren Central’s softball team had a rocky start to its postseason.

Southaven scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to beat the Lady Vikes 7-6 in Game 1 of their Class 6A playoff series Friday night.
Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3 of the best-of-three series is at Warren Central on Saturday. The action starts at 4 p.m.

Warren Central coach Dana McGivney said the Lady Vikes (9-12) are focused solely on winning the first half of the doubleheader first.

“Obviously the first game is a big one, we have to win that one to force a Game 3, so our focus will just be on trying to force that Game 3, and then do what we need to at least push it to the third game,” McGivney said. “We’ve come back before from losing a Game 1 in a series.”

Things started off well for Warren Central on Friday. It took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but a pitching change in the fifth changed the tide in favor of Southaven. A couple of walks, hits and errors led to the five-run inning.

“We just couldn’t come back from that,” McGivney said.

McGivney felt that her team put forth a solid performance despite the loss.

“We didn’t play bad. I thought my eighth-graders played pretty well. I thought Annalyn (Nevels) did a really good job pitching. She didn’t allow a run to be scored on her. We just had a lapse and made a few errors, but overall I thought we played pretty well,” McGivney said.

McGivney said there were a couple of specific areas that could elevate the Lady Vikes in Game 2.

“Not make errors, and hit the ball,” McGivney said. “And we have to score the ball every inning, as opposed to every other inning.”

Warren Central vs. Southaven
Game 1: Southaven 7, Warren Central 6
Game 2: Saturday, 4 p.m., at Warren Central
x-Game 3: Saturday, 7 p.m., at Warren Central
Best-of-three series; x-if necessary)