By CURTIS ROCKWELL

Item Sports Editor

It had been four years since Picayune hosted an opening round postseason series in the state slow pitch softball playoffs.

The Lady Tide took advantage of the homefield Thursday night.

Picayune blew past visiting McComb 9-1 and 11-0 in the best of three opening round Class 5A playoff series. The wins push Picayune to 15-5 overall but more importantly secured a home date against Vancleave in the South State semifinals on Saturday.

Head coach Kristi Mitchell’s crew wasted no time in jumping out to a lead they would never relinquish in the opening game, scoring five runs in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead.

“I thought we needed to get out quickly and get the momentum,” Mitchell said. “We played with good intensity in both games, but we can improve.”

Brandi Rabion had a two run double in the outburst in the second stanza, while Jessica Rancifer had an RBI-single and Bethany Crawford drove in a run as well.

In the third, Brooke Ladner had an RBI-single and Rabion an RBI-single as well while Taylor Seals added a double.

Crawford drove in another run later in the game to wrap up the scoring.

Sarah Dodd picked up the pitching wins in both games.

In the second contest, the game was scoreless until Picayune picked up two runs in the fourth frame as Hillary Dickens drove in a run and Tiffany Devore had an RBI-single.

The Lady Tide blew the game open in the sixth with a nine run eruption.

Crawford had a two run double, while Rabion and Dodd had RBI-doubles as well. Ladner, Seals and Rancifer also drove in runs.

“I thought we came out a little relaxed in the second game but we finally picked it up,” Mitchell added.

Rabion is one of six seniors on the Lady Tide team that helped Picayune win its first league title in four years.

“I am proud of my teammates because we have all really worked hard to get here,” Rabion said. “It was really important to all of us to win the district and host the first round. Now we have to keep playing hard because we have a lot left to play for.”

Picayune is slated to host Vancleave at 11 a.m., Saturday morning. The teams split a pair of games in the regular season, with each winning on their homefield.