NATCHEZ — Tyler Morrison and Caleb Upton spent the last two years throwing and catching each other.

Now, the two are sharing honors after being selected to the MHSAA Class 1A by the Mississippi Association of Coaches.

Upton, a junior, was selected first team All-State as a catcher, and Morrison, a senior, second team All-State as a left-handed starter. Both athletes said it was a big honor for them to be selected.

“There are a lot of other good athletes out there,” Morrison said. “Last year, I made second team, so it’s really an honor to be there again.”

Upton said he enjoyed catching Morrison, and their pitcher-catcher relationship was a good one that stemmed from familiarizing themselves with one another.

“Me and him are usually pretty in tune,” Upton said. “I usually knew where he’d throw the ball, how to throw to certain batters and how to work different counts.

“We worked together some last year and all of this year. Sometimes he’d have me catch him in practice to work on certain parts of his game, like curveball or fastball location.”

Morrison said his fastball-curveball combo was his bread and butter in his high school career.

“I had really good command on my fastball, and my curveball was off and on, but it worked when I needed it to,” Morrison said.

“Some games I would have a feel for it, other games I didn’t. It was just like most pitches, I could throw it if I had to. It was definitely my out pitch.”

But if Morrison needed an out pitch for someone already on base, his pickoff move could deliver.

“It’s probably the best thing about me pitching, because I was able to keep runners close,” Morrison said.

Upton is also the starting quarterback for Cathedral’s football team, and he said the skill sets needed to play both positions are very similar.

“You have to be able to see the field and know what’s going on at all times,” Upton said. “That’s the main point to both positions. You have to be able to think on your feet.

“Mostly, it’s the mental aspects of both positions that are similar, but having a strong arm also helps.”

Upton said his team would miss Morrison, who graduated from Cathedral last Friday.

“We’re going to have to find a pitcher that can fill in for him, and I hope someone else will step up,” Upton said. “We could always count on him for at least five innings, sometimes seven.”

Morrison, meanwhile, said he’s grateful to have had Upton calling his games.

“He’s the best catcher I’ve ever had in high school,” Morrison said. “He’s just one of the leaders on the team. I never had to worry about throwing a low pitch, because I knew he’d block it.”