Cathedral softball skipper Lynn Ogden wants to take her team back to where it was when she began coaching there – the state tournament.

In Ogden’s first season, the 1997 campaign, she led the Green Wave to the state tournament – a Final Four contest where they were eventually eliminated. &uot;I want to get back to the state tournament,&uot; she said with a serious expression.

But it won’t be an easy task, although her squad was bumped down to the 1A classification this year.

&uot;It’s going to be tough down there,&uot; she said. &uot;1A is tougher than 2A.&uot;

Girls in programs like Bogue Chitto, Dexter and Salem take softball seriously. Not that Green Wave ballers don’t take the sport seriously, but Ogden said many players in that area are at it year-round.

On the other hand, Cathedral may have an advantage in that department during this year’s 25-game slate.

Rather than waiting until summer to hold tryouts, Ogden said, she held tryouts at the end of last school year – while she had all her players’ attention.

&uot;I normally wait until now to have tryouts,&uot; she said. &uot;But this year I had tryouts right after tennis (season).&uot;

That way, Ogden said, she knows who’s playing and who’s not.

&uot;I can encourage them to play during the summer,&uot; she said.

With several young sluggers, who took Ogden’s summer league advice, and an experienced core of seniors, the Green Wave expects to improve on last year’s mark.

But, Ogden said, Cathedral won’t make a run at a state title, or even a district championship, unless they find steady pitching.

&uot;Our weakness is in our pitching,&uot;&160;she said. &uot;We’re struggling trying to find good pitching.&uot;

&160;

Ogden has two pitchers in place, but will need more than that to make it through the season, which begins Aug. 15.

&uot;The secret to pitching is in the arc of the ball,&uot; she said. &uot;You want to arc the ball.

&uot;If you get good pitching, that’s what you get,&uot; she added, pointing to a pop-up caught by an outfielder. &uot;If you throw flat pitches, you’ll get killed.&uot;