When the rain finally went away, Warren Central’s slow-pitch softball team lost another day.

The Lady Vikes hit three home runs, but tightened up after a 40-minute lightning delay in the fifth inning Thursday against Northwest Rankin. They let a two-run lead slip away after play resumed and lost their second straight game, 10-7.

Warren Central (0-2) had 14 hits in the game. Cocoa Fultz, Sarah Kate Smith and Ashley Coley each hit home runs, and Megan Stewart went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored.

“Both teams hit well all night. We just played tight after the rain delay and couldn’t get our momentum back,” said Warren Central coach Dana McGivney, whose team led 7-5 before the delay. “They got to hit in their cage before we resumed play, but we weren’t given that opportunity. Not making excuses. We just didn’t finish it.”

Smith hit a two-run home run in the first inning for Warren Central. Fultz hit another two-run shot in the third inning, and Coley a solo homer two batters later.

Coley also singled in two runs in the fifth inning to give the Lady Vikes a 7-5 lead.

Northwest Rankin stayed with the Lady Vikes every step of the way, however. It scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead after the rain delay, and then tacked on two more in the sixth to pad the lead.

Five Northwest starters had at least two hits, and it had 15 hits as a team.

Despite the two-game losing streak to start the season, McGivney said she’s not discouraged by what she’s seen from the Lady Vikes. They hit the ball hard in a 6-2 loss to Florence on Tuesday, but hit into three double plays. Nine of the 10 starters had at least one hit in Thursday’s game.

Smith, Coley and Kaylee Hoeft had two hits apiece.

“I feel like we are playing well with the limited amount of time we’ve had to practice and play because of the weather,” McGivney said. “I’m proud of how hard we have been playing, and especially the way we have been hitting.”