Vicksburg High’s softball playoff game — or, it hopes, games — on Saturday against Lake Cormorant will be do-or-die.

Hanna Connell and Sam Ruff both homered as Lake Cormorant beat the Missy Gators 7-0 on Friday night in Game 1 of their first-round Class 5A series. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is at 3 p.m. Saturday at VHS, and if Vicksburg can win Game 3 will be played immediately afterward.

After failing to score at Lake Cormorant — which is also nicknamed the Gators — Vicksburg coach Brian Ellis is hoping that returning to their home field can spark a better day at the plate for his hitters.

“We didn’t play badly. We played well enough to win a ballgame. We just didn’t hit the ball,” Ellis said. “We had three hits. We had four strikeouts. Every time we hit the ball, we just hit it right at somebody.”

Chelsea Myers registered two of the hits for the Missy Gators and Kayla Foster notched the other. For Lake Cormorant, Connell hit a solo home run and Ruff a two-run shot in the fifth inning.

“We left a few pitches out that they hit out,” Ellis said of the home runs.

Ellis felt that even with the loss, the Missy Gators’ performance in Game 1 should have them feeling more confident and energized for Saturday.

“We should come out of here believing that we can beat this team, that’s the deal,” Ellis said. “We have to have confidence that we can do it, and we have to have confidence that we can hit the ball. Even their home runs, at our place they’re not out. They have kind of a short fence. It’s not even a 200 (foot) fence, but at the same time they can hit the ball pretty well.

“We just have to believe that we can do it,” Ellis continued. “We played one of our better ballgames defensively, surprisingly, with that 7-0 score.”

Vicksburg vs. Lake Cormorant
Game 1: Lake Cormorant 7, Vicksburg 0
Game 2: Saturday, 3 p.m., at Vicksburg
x-Game 3: Saturday, 6 p.m., at Vicksburg
(Best-of-three series; x-if necessary)