HATTIESBURG — For five innings, Neshoba Central couldn’t buy a timely hit, and the Lady Rockets watched as Wayne County took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth.

The Lady Rockets needed their veteran leaders to step up. Fortunately for Neshoba Central, they did in a big way Monday night.

Senior Rivers Gray hit an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to get the Lady Rockets on the board and later scored on a passed ball to cut the Lady War Eagles’ lead to 3-2 going into the seventh. After holding Wayne County scoreless in the top of the frame, Gray tied it up on an RBI fielder’s choice in the bottom of the seventh and sent fellow senior Tori Henderson up with a runner on third and a chance to win it.

Henderson swung at the first pitch and drilled the ball to deep right center for a double, sending home freshman Tenly Grisham and giving the Lady Rockets a 4-3 win in Game 1 of the MHSAA Class 5A fast-pitch state title series.

“These kids, they never quit,” Neshoba Central coach Trae Embry said. “They believe in themselves, and we believe in them, and they just fight until the end, and that’s what it’s about.”

And while there was some comfort in knowing the game was tied with two outs when Henderson stepped up to the plate, Embry admitted it was nice to not have to go into extra innings.

“Relief,” Embry said he felt when Henderson hit the double. “You score the tying run, so you know you have another inning there, but Tori stepped up in a big-time way right there for us.”

Henderson, who finished the game 3-for-4, said her approach was to wait back on Wayne County reliever Emily Rigney and hit her pitch instead of getting anxious at the plate any trying to do too much.

“I was ready for it I guess,” Henderson said. 

Like her coach, Henderson felt a sense of relief once the ball sailed past the Lady War Eagles outfielders.

“I was happy and excited,” Henderson said. “All of the coaches were jumping around.”

Wayne County scored on an error in the top of the third inning and added two more runs on a passed ball and a wild pitch in the top of the sixth to go ahead 3-0. But Neshoba Central began to string together the timely hitting it needed in the bottom of the inning. After Elleigh Willis singled to start the bottom of the frame, Gray’s double drove in her team’s first run and gave the Lady Rockets a shot in the arm.

“It’s huge,” Embry said of Gray’s double. “We had no momentum going at all, and we couldn’t seem to find a hit. We hit several balls really hard at the third baseman who just made plays, and that’s a great team over there, and we have to come back (Tuesday) and be ready to play.”

Gray said it was nerve-racking stepping into the box and having to come through with a big hit, but when she did connect, it felt like a switch flipped for her and her teammates.

“When I felt it go off the bat, I knew it was a good hit, so I was like, ‘Oh gosh, just get to second,’ and when I did, it was a good feeling,” Gray said.

After Henderson hit into a fielder’s choice that sent Gray to third, Kylee Thompson walked and later stole second, but Gray was unable to take off toward home, as the throw to second was cut off by Wayne County starter Emily McDonald. From there, it felt like Gray was on third forever, as McDonald worked slowly before getting Destiny Dill to pop out. In the next at-bat, McDonald threw a pitch the Wayne County catcher couldn’t handle, and Gray finally got to go home on a passed ball.

“The longer I stand there, you have more time to think about it, and it makes you more nerve-racked, because you’re just thinking, ‘Be smart. Don’t mess up,’ the whole time,” Gray said.

There was every reason for the Lady Rockets to be anxious at the plate, as they were starting a 3-0 deficit in the face with only two innings left and not a lot of offensive success. Yet the Neshoba Central players remained loose in the dugout, with players constantly making noise and cheering on their teammates, and Gray credited Embry for keeping his players from panicking.

“Coach Embry kept us calm, saying we could easily do it, and our teammates kept us pumped up the whole time, and that helped,” Gray said. 

Said Embry, “We try not to panic. That’s kind of what we told them: ‘Let’s chip away. We’ve got six outs left, and we’re capable of scoring a lot of runs really quickly.”

Hama’ya Fielder walked to begin the bottom of the seventh, and Grisham laid down a bunt single to put two on with nobody out. Following a sacrifice bunt by Willis to move the runners, Gray grounded out to score Willis from third, setting up Henderson’s walkoff hit.

Lady Rockets starter Aspen Wesley got the win, pitching seven innings and giving up three unearned runs on three hits and one walk. She also struck out six. McDonald pitched six innings for Wayne County, surrendering two runs, one earned, on six hits and four walks. Rigney went 2/3 of an inning and gave up two runs on two hits and one walk.

Gray and Henderson’s RBI doubles were the only extra-base hits for the Lady Rockets Monday. Gray finished 2-for-4, and Grisham, Willis and Fielder also had hits.

Neshoba Central (32-2) will play Game 2 Tuesday afternoon following the Classes 1A and 3A Game 2s. Class 1A’s Game 2 between Smithville and Vardaman begins at 10 a.m., with Choctaw Central and South Pontotoc set to play after them. Neshoba Central will play at the conclusion of the Choctaw Central-South Pontotoc Game 2. Game 3, if necessary, will be later Tuesday afternoon.