South Panola is the reigning MHSAA Class 6A softball champion and a heavy favorite to repeat. It showed why on Thursday.

Grady Beck Wilson went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, Makenzie Houston also had two hits and three RBIs, and South Panola routed Warren Central 15-0 in Game 1 of their second-round Class 6A playoff series in Batesville.

Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Friday at 5 p.m. at Warren Central’s Lucy Young Field. Warren Central needs to win to force Game 3 on Saturday in Batesville — something it did last season — and will need to step up its game to hang with a juggernaut.

South Panola (28-2) has not allowed a run in 39 innings spread across 10 games. The last game it did not win by run rule was a 4-1 victory over Tennessee’s Tipton-Rosemark Academy on March 28.

The Lady Vikes (12-16) committed seven errors on Thursday, two of which came in the first inning and allowed South Panola to take a 3-0 lead.

The Lady Tigers then struck for nine runs in the bottom of the second to blow the game open, and went on to win by run rule. Hailey Heafner and Sadie Bright both hit RBI doubles in the second inning, and Makenzie Houston hit a two-run single.

Nia Fondren and Wilson added RBI doubles and each scored a run in the third inning to pad the lead.

Bright, the MHSAA’s Miss Softball for Class 6A, pitched three scoreless innings before giving way to Wilson for the last two. They combined to allowed three hits and no walks while striking out four batters.

Anzley Keen, KK Williamson and Kennadi Williams each hit a single for Warren Central.