HOULKA &045; When things started turning from bad to worse with the Houlka Wildcats, head coach Jimbo Byers just about had it up to here.

The Wildcats had beaten eventual division champ East Union at East Union and seemed poised to turn a corner, but they ended the season in a swoon and fell into second place. So after the game at their home away from home in Pontotoc to end the regular season, Byers just started running them.

What happened after that, the coach just kind of stood back and watched.

&uot;Two of the kids started arguing right there like they were going to fight, so we ran again&uot; said Byers, whose team will meet up with Cathedral in the Class 1A state championship series starting Saturday in Natchez.

&uot;We ran for about 10 more minutes. I told them just exactly how they were playing and we weren’t getting much effort. I left them out there in center field and didn’t let them back on until they got everything straightened out. They said they had everything settled.

&uot;We came back to Houlka, put the equipment up and all the guys were outside the gym doing something. They had spray paint, and they were painting their cleats &045; one cleat red and one cleat white (in school colors). I told them if we would play in the tournament like we did the last two games, we’d lose two and come on home. We’ve won seven straight.&uot;

The Wildcats (21-9) from Houlka (pronounced HULL-kuh) enter the series with the Green Wave on a hot streak, and the team is doing it with mostly juniors &045; nine juniors on the roster with five starting &045; along with three seniors and one sophomore.

They’ve got on a roll since that tournament to open the playoffs when they went to Myrtle, the state champion from 2002. There they knocked off the host team and beat Vardaman thanks to a three-run homer from Mark Allen Stevens in the top of the seventh to take the lead.

Pitching has been the story for most of the season for the Wildcats, but lately the bats have come alive.

&uot;This group of juniors and seniors have played a lot since the seventh grade,&uot; Byers said. &uot;In 2000 we won the basketball state championship. That season ran into baseball, and we started that season with guys in the seventh and eighth grade. I remember that year we were still playing basketball and those seventh- and eighth-graders were at a tournament at East Webster, and one of the umpires told me, ‘All of those guys are seventh- and eighth-graders? In a couple of years people will be lining the fence to see you play.’&uot;

The Wildcats motored through that first-round regional tournament before taking their series against Wheeler and East Webster in the North State championship. A big key has been the team’s pitching &045; they have five right-handers who have contributed this season &045; especially in the playoffs.

Chris Huggins will likely get the call in Game 1 Saturday against the Green Wave and is 8-1 on the season. Stevens has been the No. 2 starter with a season record of 5-3, and the bullpen features Al-Jammi Davis with a record of 3-0 and eight saves.

&uot;I felt like if we would get into the first round it would be to our advantage because we threw five different pitchers those games,&uot; Byers said. &uot;Going into that tournament, we were confident with all five of them. We won three games in that tournament in two days and used all five. Wheeler had the best record of 1A teams in the North, and we beat a real good pitcher in the first game 2-1.&uot;

But lately it’s been the hitting, which came alive in the second game against Wheeler and in the series against East Webster. A late rally in the first game gave Houlka an 11-3 win, and they came back and won 5-4 in Game 2 thanks to just two hits, both by Cody Duncan.

Junior shortstop Greg Naugle &045; owner of a .214 batting average during the regular season &045; hit two homers against East Webster and is hitting .420 in the playoffs.

It’s a steady combination coming into the series with the Green Wave, who has enough balance of hitting and pitching to match up to make for an interesting series. The Green Wave has lost just one game so far in the playoffs, but now have out-scored the opposition 87-27 in the postseason.

Left-hander Te Riley will get the start on the mound Saturday for CHS.

&uot;I’ve been calling coaches to see what I can find out,&uot; Byers said. &uot;I think most of them told me not to go down there. I heard about the left-handed pitcher and the No. 3 hitter and center fielder. From what everybody says, they hit the ball real well. Our guys are looking forward to it.&uot;