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Warren Central catcher Mari Kynlea Ferguson tags Saltillo's Addie Kesler at home plate to complete a double play in the third inning of Monday's MHSAA Class 6A playoff game. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central pitcher KeKe McKay delivers during Game 3 of an MHSAA Class 6A playoff series vs. Saltillo. McKay allowed two runs in six innings to lead the Lady Vikes to a 3-2 victory. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Addi Mullen (1) high-fives teammate Mary Clell Allred (9) after scoring a run during Monday's MHSAA Class 6A softball playoff game against Saltillo. Warren Central won, 3-2. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Addi Mullen (1) slides into third with a stolen base as Saltillo's Madi Tutor takes the throw. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Emily Muirhead swings during Monday's playoff game against Saltillo. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Mari Kynlea Ferguson (5) scores a run as Saltillo catcher Reagan Dottley reaches for a high throw during Monday's MHSAA Class 6A playoff game. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

For Warren Central, good things came in Game 3.

KeKe McKay delivered an excellent pitching performance in a surprise start, and also drove in a run as Warren Central beat Saltillo 3-2 in the deciding Game 3 of their first-round MHSAA Class 6A softball playoff series on Monday.

Two of the three games in the series were decided by one run, and the other by two runs. The winning team scored three runs in all three games.

“It feels good,” Warren Central coach Brian Ellis said. “It’s been a grind this series. They’re a good team. They threw a couple good pitchers at us. We did a good job staying on it and giving ourselves opportunities to win ballgames.”

Next up for Warren Central (12-14) is defending state champion South Panola (27-2), which is led by the MHSAA’s Class 6A Miss Softball Sadie Bright. The best-of-three series will begin Thursday in Batesville, with Game 2 Friday at WC and Game 3 back in Batesville on Saturday. Game times have not yet been set.

The Lady Vikes pushed South Panola to Game 3 when they faced each other in the second round last season, which gave them confidence heading into the rematch.

“We’ve got the big dogs. Bring them on,” Ellis laughed. “We don’t have anything to lose. We’ve got everything to gain. If you want to win a state championship you’ve got to go through them some time.”

Ellis decided to roll the dice in Game 3 against Saltillo (9-14-1) by going with his backup pitcher McKay instead of the primary ace Madison Pant.

Pant started the first two games of the series, but Ellis said he wanted to give her some rest and give Saltillo a different look.

“They’ve seen Maddie twice. They’ve seen her for 14 innings and she’s kind of worn out. She’s only had a day’s rest,” Ellis said. “KeKe hadn’t thrown in a while but she’s been working and pitching. She’s been spinning the ball pretty good in practice, and she was ready to take the ball. I’m so proud of her. She threw her heart out.”

McKay pitched six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits. She only walked one batter and struck out four before giving way to Pant, who earned a save by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.

McKay stepped in on a moment’s notice last season when Pant was injured in Game 3 of a first-round series against Grenada and led the Lady Vikes to a win. The sophomore did it again Monday. She said she didn’t find out until Monday morning that she would be pitching instead of playing shortstop like she expected.

“Right before I walked into school he told me that I was pitching,” McKay said. “I’m kind of nervous, but I know that I’ve got it. My team trusted me, so I know I can go out there and do it.”

McKay got a lot of help from her defense. After Addie Kesler singled to bring in the first run of the game in the top of the third inning, Saltillo had the bases loaded with one out.

Madison Padgett lifted a fly ball to right field for the second out and Kesler tagged up from third. Emily Muirhead fired a strike to home plate to throw out Kesler and get the Lady Vikes out of a big jam.

In the fourth inning, Mary Clell Allred caught an infield pop up while runner Cella Dye was halfway between first and second, and Allred threw to first for another inning-ending double play.

“We made some big plays when they got runners on,” Ellis said.

Offensively, the Lady Vikes manufactured all of their runs in the third and fourth innings. Two errors and a single by Allred set up McKay’s RBI groundout and brought in a run to put them ahead 2-1 in the third.

In the fourth, Addi Mullen reached on an error and then stole third base before scoring on a passed ball to make it 3-1.

Mullen’s run ended up being the winning run. Saltillo’s Chloe Skelton blasted a solo home run over the center field fence in the fifth inning, but it was the last hit the Tigers got. Their only other baserunner in the last three innings was Skelton again, who was intentionally walked with two outs in the seventh. Pant got Avery Holly to fly out to center field for the final out.

“That was a big deal breaking the ice and get something on the board. Keep them off the board and get something on the board,” Ellis said. “We did a great job up and down the lineup. We might have somebody struggle, but then somebody to come in and get a hit. We got some hits at the right time today.”

MHSAA CLASS 6A PLAYOFFS
Second round
Best-of-3; x-if necessary; times TBA
Warren Central vs. South Panola
May 1 – Warren Central at South Panola
May 2 – South Panola at Warren Central
x-May 3 – Warren Central at South Panola

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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