GONZALEZ, La. — Natchez 12s head coach Terry Moffett doesn’t care where you’re playing — you have to throw strikes to win, he said.

And since the 12s had trouble with that Saturday, they dropped their Dixie Youth World Series opener to the Tennessee champions 9-2.

“We battled them early, and were ahead 2-1 at one point, but our pitching just gave up too many walks,” Moffett said.

“Then, Tennessee mixed in a couple of hits, and that was it.”

Natchez starter Tyler Wilson took the loss, while Tennessee’s Ryan Hatten got the win.

“We got two runs (in the second inning), and other than that, he was pretty much in command of the game. He had a good fastball that was probably in the 70-mph range, and a pretty good curveball,” Moffett said.

With the loss, Natchez will take on the South Carolina champions at 3:30 p.m. today. Moffett said the way to improve was pretty simple.

“If we can’t throw strikes, it’s going to be hard to win. I can say it’s first game jitters or whatever, with them playing in their first World Series game, but I don’t care where you play. If you don’t throw strikes, it’s hard to win,” Moffett said.

“When they played, I had a sense they were kind of relaxed, so I don’t know if they were trying too hard or not. Still, you’ve got to throw strikes — I don’t care what level you pitch on.”

Although he didn’t have a chance to watch the South Carolina champions play Saturday, Moffett said he’s expecting a hard-fought game.

“We were trying to prepare for our game, so I didn’t get a chance to see them. All I know is, they’re in the same shape we’re in: 0-1,” Moffett said.

“I’m looking to get a good shot from them, and ours have always come up with a good shot after a loss, so I hope we continue with that.”