HATTIESBURG &045; Funny how things work out sometimes.

Here were the Natchez 13-year-old Dixie Boys All-Stars in Big Buck Sports in Hattiesburg, the day of the state championship game against Oak Grove, making additions to their jerseys and making sure they were legal after a Laurel player was ejected for not having the same jersey as everyone on his team the night before.

As the coaches were waiting on the jerseys, coaches from Oak Grove came in and ordered a set of new T-shirts that just piqued the interest of Natchez head coach William Barnes.

&uot;The Oak Grove coaches were ordering state championship shirts with the state of Mississippi on them,&uot; Barnes admitted. &uot;They went ahead and wore them under their jerseys. I didn’t say anything the first game. In the second game we made a double play, and when we ran off the field we let them all know. I think that pumped us up and kept us up the whole game.&uot;

As it turns out, the motivation may have worked. After taking a hard-fought 7-6 win in the first game, Natchez took a 3-1 win in the second to win the state title over an Oak Grove team who had little trouble advancing to the championship game &045; including a 7-5 win over Natchez on Monday.

Now, however, Natchez advances to the World Series beginning Aug. 4 in Jackson, Tenn.

&uot;It’s funny how things work out sometimes,&uot; Barnes said. &uot;But I know you’ve got to plan in advance sometimes. I say that, but they were a class act. There was no hostility at all. They just jumped the gun, and we used that to pump us up.&uot;

Each game was hard-fought, and those in attendance definitely got their money’s worth as each went down to the wire. In the second game Natchez got a strong outing from Dustin Carroll before Oak Grove scored a run in the sixth on a controversial play when an Oak Grove baserunner barreled over Natchez catcher Jesse Morrison to score the run.

Barnes pulled Carroll for Ryan Ratcliff, who struck out the second batter of the seventh inning to get down to the last out.

Then an infield grounder to short by the next batter was almost trouble, but the throw got to first for the final out with power hitter Jeff Palmer &045; who hit a huge three-run homer in Game 1 &045; sitting on deck.

&uot;Dustin did well,&uot; Barnes said. &uot;He got in a jam in the first inning when he walked the bases loaded, but he threw well. He had a few walks, but that’s understandable. He got a little tired there at the end, but he had no hits allowed until the sixth. That’s when I brought Ryan Ratcliff in, and he shut the door.&uot;

Carroll walked the bases loaded in the first, but he got out of it when a grounder back to the mound turned into a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning. Natchez answered with a run in the second when Kendall Logan reached on an error, went to second on a passed ball, went to third on a Ratcliff grounder and scored on a Ja-Mes Logan groundout.

In the sixth Carroll helped his own cause with a two-run

homer for the 3-0 lead.

But things did get hairy in the first game after Natchez jumped to a 7-3 lead heading into the top of the seventh with Matt Barnes on the mound and one out. After two batters reached base, Clifton deposited a pitch over the fence to cut the lead to 7-6.

But it didn’t stop there. The next Oak Grove batter doubled, and he went to third on a groundout, but Carroll came in and got the next batter on a strikeout to end the game and force Game 2.

&uot;We didn’t really challenge him, but he hit a good pitch,&uot; William Barnes said. &uot;In both games everybody was on the edge of their seats. Oak Grove fans were hollering, and Natchez had a small crowd but a loud one. We hit the ball well the first game and set the tone for the second one.&uot;

Natchez broke open a 3-3 tie in the fifth with four runs for the 7-3 lead. Carroll singled in Morrison for the first run, and Ja-Mes Logan tripled in Carroll and Kendall Logan before Joseph McDonough singled in a run.