There’s a big reason why the Cathedral Green Wave likes its chances when sophomore Corey Walker is on the mound.

That’s because when he is, the infield is jam-packed with experienced seniors &045;Wyler Murray at third, Garrett Jones at shortstop, Michael Blain at second and Te Riley at first. Jones and Murray are three-year starters at their positions, and Blain and Riley are in their second stints.

Each one is steady with the glove, and that will be the scenario today when the Green Wave travels to Greenville for Game 2 of the Class 1A South State championship series.

The Wave can lock it up with a win after taking Game 1 on Saturday 15-5 in five innings.

&uot;Hopefully we’ll play good defense behind Corey,&uot; Cathedral head coach Craig Beesley said. &uot;Corey is going to throw strikes. That’s one thing consistent about him &045; he’s got good control. The bottom of (St. Joe’s) order is going to put the ball in play and make you make the routine plays. If you make the routine plays, we’ll be all right.&uot;

A couple of errors in Saturday’s Game 1 were enough to leave a bad taste in Beesley’s mouth, although it mattered little in the outcome. An error in the third with two outs put Sam Maddox on, and Jamie Montgomery followed with a two-run homer that cut the lead to 9-3.

Two errors in the fifth put runner at first and second with one out, but the infield turned its second double play of the game on a grounder to Jeremy Davis at short, who tossed to Blain for the first out before Blain went to Riley at first to end it.

The Wave turned a double play in the first inning.

Today’s game will need some solid defense with the game at Greenville. The Irish play in a park similar to Chester Willis, an old Cotton States League park with plenty of real estate all the way around.

&uot;It’s 400 to center and 330 down the lines,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;We’ve got Preston (Hicks), Jeremy and Andrew (Ellard) out there. We should have some speed in the outfield to run down those gaps. This will be their last year to play there, but it’s an old field with a big grandstand.&uot;

The lineup will likely face offspeed specialist Ben Maddox today after Beesley and the Green Wave were banking on seeing him to open the series. Instead, St. Joseph head coach Kenny Wolf went with Max Freeman, who got just one out before being pulled in a seven-run Cathedral first inning.

&uot;I kind of thought he would throw the first game,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;Last year Maddox threw the first game against us, and he did pretty well. But if we hit the ball, we’ll be OK. We can’t be worried about who’s pitching. We’ve got to hit whoever is on the mound.&uot;

That’s what the Green Wave lineup does best. It’s outscored the opposition 77-23 so far through seven playoff games, having scored in double figures in five of those.

&uot;We’re real confident about going up there and playing,&uot; Jones said. &uot;If we swing it like we did today, we’re going to take it. We know how we can play. We’ve just got to come out and play like we know how.&uot;

BRAIN TEASER &045; It was the ultimate trickery on Thursday for Adams Christian in their MPSA Class AAA final against Hillcrest Christian. Everybody tries to fool teams’ attempts at double steals, but what head coach Gill Morris called may have put the Cougars on their ear.

In the second inning of Game 2, the Cougars put runners at the corners with no outs after Joey Tackett doubled and Cody Satterwhite reached on an error. After stealing four bases in Game 1 and another in the first inning, the Cougars called for a double steal.

Catcher Joseph Dunlap threw to second, but second baseman Dustin Case came up to cut the throw to hold Tackett at third. Instead, he let the ball go by to shortstop Jamie Morris, who got Satterwhite easily after he pulled up thinking Case had cut the throw.

&uot;A lot of teams don’t do it,&uot; Morris said. &uot;We showed them we would do it. When you show teams you’ll do it, they hesitate with runners at first and third. It was a gamble, and it paid off.&uot;

The Rebels will open its Class AAA state championship series at 6 p.m. Tuesday at home against Jackson Prep. Game 2 and the if-necessary Game 3 will be at Prep Thursday.

DIFFERENT SLUGGER &045; Folks at Chester Willis may be becoming accustomed to Davis putting balls out of the yard, but on Saturday Murray took his turn. The senior third baseman put one over the fence in left field in what may have been his first home run this year.

Murray crushed a 1-0 pitch from Cayne Boykin for a two-run shot in the third inning as part of a three-hit day. He also drove in four runs.

&uot;He hit it well,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;He hit it solid, and I knew once he hit it it had a good chance of going out. He had a good game.&uot;

Davis, meanwhile, had two hits and two runs batted in. He’s reached double figures in home runs this season for the Wave, a feat Beesley said may be a first at CHS in quite some time.

EXACTING REVENGE &045; Despite the controversial ending to the Class 5A boys’ 800-meter relay mattering little due to Brandon’s sizable margin against Natchez, the Bulldogs did assert themselves in the 4×100 relay.

Natchez anchor Jerald Shelvy held off Brandon’s Ken Love, who taunted Shelvy in the closing meters of the 800 relay by raising his fist into the steamy Pearl air as he passed Shelvy for the win.

But this time in the 400 relay, no extracurriculars ensued as Shelvy crossed the finish line in 42.73 ahead of Love and Brandon’s 42.96.

&uot;I just wanted to beat Brandon because I didn’t like what they did when they crossed the line, raising his hand,&uot; said junior Travis Washington, who ignited the win with a quick first leg.

Washington wasn’t done, coming back to shock a strong 400 field with a first-place finish.

ONE FOR THE THUMB &045; With Tanieka Hill being the lone senior from this year’s Lady Bulldog bunch, there’s no reason to believe the Natchez High girls won’t make a run at a Class 5A state championship five-peat next season.

Wesley said success breeds more success, and a fifth straight title would certainly make Natchez a dynasty.

That is, if they are not already one to begin with.

&uot;I don’t want to feel like I’m bragging, but this makes four in a row,&uot; Wesley said. &uot;Any program that is successful has kids behind it that want to keep the tradition alive.&uot;

Sportswriter

Chuck Corder

contributed to this report.