First, there was high drama. Then, it was high times for Warren Central.

The Lady Vikes stayed alive in the MHSAA Class 6A softball playoffs by scoring twice in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Southaven in Game 2 of their best-of-three series on Saturday, and then earned an 8-3 victory in the decisive Game 3.

Warren Central (10-13) advanced to face Tupelo (16-4) in the second round, which starts Tuesday.

Warren Central is into the second round for the second year in a row. It needed a late rally in Game 2 to get by Southaven.

Warren Central had taken a 1-0 lead in the second inning of Game 2 on an RBI double by April Lynn, but Southaven tied it in the fifth with an RBI single by Jasmyn Farrell. The score stayed deadlocked at 1 until the eighth inning, when Karleigh Clarkson scored on an infield hit by Saige Koczka to put Southaven ahead 2-1.

The Lady Vikes, however, responded in the bottom of the eighth.

Logan Hardin started the inning at second base under softball tiebreaker rules, and scored the tying run on an error. Then, with one out and the bases loaded, Cocoa Fultz lifted a sacrifice fly deep enough down the left field line to bring home the winning run.

The Lady Vikes rallied again to win Game 3, albeit a bit earlier this time.
After falling behind 3-0 in the third inning, they scored in each of the next four frames to win 8-3.

The decisive inning was the fourth, when the Lady Vikes scored five times to take the lead for good. Kelsey Lockridge delivered a two-run single to tie it at 3, and Fultz followed with a three-run home run. WC tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pad the margin.

Fultz finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs, and Dee Dee Caldwell was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Logan Hardin singled, walked twice and scored twice, and Lockridge was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Eighth-grader Madelyn McAdam pitched a complete game for the Lady Vikes. She allowed eight hits and three walks, but no runs after the third inning.