Natchez High junior catcher Brock Barlow loves baseball so much it’s one of his two hobbies, besides watching television.

&uot;It’s the only sport I’m good at,&uot; Barlow said.

But the Bulldog junior is more than good at it; he currently leads Natchez High in batting with a .430 average.

Barlow said baseball comes natural to him.

&uot;My dad (Ricky) played baseball and I got brought up on it,&uot; Barlow said.

Barlow works on his hitting by spending a lot of time at the batting cage hitting off the tee.

&uot;It helps me keep my weight back on my back foot,&uot; he said. &uot;It helps keep my swing down.&uot;

Barlow likes playing against the other Division 5A schools because the competition is good and the athletes are better.

He said some of the better teams in Division 5A include Brandon, Brookhaven and Madison Central.

&uot;I like playing against that type of competition because the better the opposition, the more it helps me play at a higher level,&uot; he said.

Natchez, which lost to Brookhaven 12-0 last week, faces the Panthers today at Chester Willis Field at Liberty Park.

Not surprisingly, Barlow’s favorite player is a catcher — Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers. It’s also no surprise that catcher is his favorite position.

Barlow said the team needs to do several things to turn things around before getting into the heart of its schedule.

&uot;We need to stay focused,&uot; he said. &uot;We need to gel together better as a team. And we definitely need to stop making so many errors.&uot;

Natchez High defeated Port Gibson 7-4 Tuesday for its first win of the season despite committing four errors in that game.

Barlow said he hopes to get a scholarship to an NCAA Division I team.

&uot;Mississippi State is number one on my list right now,&uot; Barlow said.

Barlow’s immediate goal for the future is for him and his teammates to win state.

&uot;We have to come out and play baseball,&uot; Barlow said. &uot;We only have two starters returning from last year, so it’s just a matter of improving each time out.&uot;