By STAN CALDWELL/Sports Writer

HATTIESBURG — Less than 24 hours after they each punched their tickets to the MHSAA State Softball Championships, East Central and Lafayette were back out on the field in a pressure-packed situation.

And it was the Hornets who drew first blood in the Class 5A State Championships, taking Game 1 in the best-of-three series 10-3 Tuesday afternoon at the Southern Miss Softball Complex on the USM campus.

East Central (29-7) can capture its seventh state title, but its first since 2009, at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Commodores (25-8) must win to force a deciding Game 3 either Friday or Saturday.

“It’s huge for us,” said EC coach Gerald Edmunson. “We’ve been here four of the past five years, and we can’t seem to get over that hump. So I told my assistant coaches and my wife that they were about to see the most laid-back they’ve ever seen me.

“I think sometimes we’ve gotten in these situations and tried to over-coach, and maybe tried to do too much. We’re here for a reason, and that reason is these young ladies really good at ball. So I just told them to have fun.”

EC got it done with a 12-hit attack behind a complete-game performance in the circle from junior right-hander Abigail Danis in the circle.

The Hornets wasted no time getting to Commodore senior starter Mabry Eason, scoring four runs on five hits and two errors, ending Eason’s day before the inning was finished.

Senior Chloe Sheppard reached on an error to lead off, reached second on a wild pitch, and senior Breonna Tanner sacrificed Sheppard to third.

Senior Kailee Lawson drove in one run with a single, junior Elizabeth Kennedy smacked a single into leftfield, and Lawson scored on a throwing error after initially stopping at third, putting runners at second and third.

Eason (16-2) got a strikeout, but junior Valerie Merrill singled up the middle to drive in both runners, bringing Lafayette coach Greg Lewis out to make a pitching change, bringing on freshman Jenny Dreher.

“We rely on each other so much, and we pick up each other when we’re sruggling,” said Kennedy. “(Eason) was doing her best, but we got locked in right from the start. We just do whatever we can to move runners along and score runs.”

Danis started in the circle for East Central, and she was touched for a run in the bottom of the first inning. Eason singled leading off, and freshman Braleigh Crowe smacked a two-out double off the leftfield fence for an RBI.

“It was big to come out with a lead,” said Danis. “I’m so proud of this team. I’m really, really happy right now.”

The Hornets were fresh from a thrilling 2-1 victory Monday night over archrival Vancleave in the deciding third game of the South State finals series.

“I guess we really didn’t have enough time to think about anything,” said Edmunson. “That’s the good thing about it. We didn’t have any time to think about what we’d done. I just told them to go out and do play.”

East Central had a chance to pad its lead in the top of the third, when Kennedy blasted a triple to the fence in centerfield, and senior Abbie Huff was hit by a pitch. But Dreher got a strikeout and a groundout to avoid trouble.

However, the Hornets didn’t squander their next opportunity, in the top of the fourth, scoring four more runs.

Sophomore Angelina Gutierrez drew a leadoff walk, stole second, took third on a sacrifice off the bat of Sheppard and scored on a single to left from Tanner.

Lawson and Danis each single to load the bases and all three runners came home on a triple into centerfield. Junior Caroline Kelley made a diving try, and got a glove on the ball, but couldn’t bring it in, and it rolled all the way to the fence.

Merrill brought Huff home with a single up the middle, giving the Hornets a commanding 9-1 lead.

“That was huge for us,” said Edmunson. “We know what (Lafayette) can do offensively. So we tried to lock in and keep adding to it. This team can really swing the bats well.”

The Commodores got two runners on in the second after two were out on a single and a walk, but nothing came of it. Lafayette got a one-out walk in the fourth, but Tanner made a shoe-top catch on a flare and doubled up the runner at first.

“My defense is awesome,” said Danis. “They keep us in a lot of ball games. They work very hard. My curve was my best pitch. I throw a lot of curveballs and riseballs, and I try to work off the plate as much as possible.”

The Hornets got a runner to third in the fifth off the Commodores’ third pitcher of the game, sophomore Sydney Cregar, but were unable to score.

Lafayette mounted a rally in the bottom of the fifth, when senior Zaniyah Booker beat out an infield single on a little roller that died just inside the first-base line about 15 feet from the plate, and Eason followed with a home run to centerfield.

The Commodores put another runner on with a single, but sophomore leftfielder Sophie Finch made two critical catches on hard-hit balls to the fence for the second and third outs of the inning.

East Central made it 10-3 in the sixth after two were out, when Huff drew a walk, Merrill stroked her third single of the game into left and the run scored on a double steal, when pinch-runner Kaitlyn Hooks dashed in to score on the throw to second.

The Hornets subsequently loaded the bases with back-to-back walks, but Cregar got a strikeout to leave the bases loaded.

But Danis (12-4) was cool at the end, retiring the last six batters she faced after surrendering a leadoff double in the sixth.

“She was fantastic today,” said Edmunson. “She was able to mix that curve and riseball with the change-up, and just kept them off balance. And she swung the bat pretty well too.”

Danis had a pair of singles, and Gutierrez walked three times in all.