NATCHEZ — The 2004 Cathedral High School state championship baseball team would give just a few words of advice to the 2014 squad as they play Game 1 for the championship today — make every moment count.

Former Green Wave players Garrett Jones, Te Riley and Jeremy Davis know what it takes to win a championship, and it all starts with a focused mindset and savoring the moment.

“I know exactly what they’re feeling right now.” Riley said. “But win or lose, its something they will never forget. I know they will play their hearts out. But don’t be too uptight, it’s just a game and have fun. The game is always supposed to be fun.”

Members of the 2004 squad like Riley remember their glory days fondly when they heard about the 2014 team pushing past Stringer High School for a shot at the state title.

And Jones was at Chester Willis Field Monday when the Cathedral team dog piled on top of each other in celebration, and he remembered the day he jumped into a pile of his teammates when they beat Houlka High School 7-4 in Game 2 to become champions.

“It was very emotional (to win the title),” Jones said. “Growing up together. we always fell short, but we knew as seniors it was our chance.”

A trip to the 2014 state championship couldn’t come at a better time for seniors Thomas Garrity, Ty Brown and Turner Jannette either.

And Jones, Te Riley and Jeremy Davis know exactly what those players are feeling.

Jones and Riley were in their senior year and Jones was a junior when they made it all the way to the title game against Houlka.

The upperclassmen had been playing ball together since they were apart of the Natchez Dixie Youth league, but they could never get over the hump to win a championship.

Riley said it was either now or never.

“When we were 12, we lost in the state game (of Dixie Youth), at 14 we lost in semi finals of state,” Riley said. “In my junior year we got beat out in the second round by the team that actually won state that year.

“We had the team that could’ve won, but we just fell apart. We really had a chip on our shoulder going into our senior year.”

Before the Green Wave could own the season, they first had to get through South State against their rivals St. Joseph Catholic School in Greenville.

Cathedral beat the Irish 10-4.

“We felt that was our toughest battle to get to the championship,” Davis said. “We felt really good about that win, but we had to make sure not to let up or feel like we already won. We really had to take note not to get big headed because we were so close in previous years; we had to make the most of it.

“We weren’t going to let anything stop us once we got to that point.”

But it looked like the only thing that stood in Cathedral’s way of the championship was the weather.

Riley said it rained in Natchez so much, it was days before they could play Game 1 against Houlka.

“Our Game 1 got postponed three days in a row,” Riley said. “It drug out long enough to where (Houlka) got a hotel and said they weren’t leaving Natchez until they played the game.

“We were finally warming up for Game 1 and all of a sudden it started raining again. We thought it was a rain out, but it stopped raining and coach (Craig Beesley) said we were going to start in 30 minutes, so we had to get our mindset back right.”

Cathedral pulled out that win 5-1, but they knew they still had to travel to Pontotoc for Game 2.

And to Riley’s surprise, it still seemed like a home game despite the 5-hour ride upstate.

“I knew we had such a great fan base, and one thing that stood out to me was the number of our fans that showed up,” Riley said. “We had more fans than (Houlka) did at their home field. It was amazing. That was one thing I can credit to how good we did was the support.”

Between the fans and a seasoned team with a chip on their shoulder, the Green Wave found themselves up 4-0 after the first inning, and though they took a 7-4 lead heading into the seventh inning, the game was far from over.

Sophomore Corey Walker had pitched a solid game, but allowed two hits in the top of the seventh before Beesley called him out and put Jones on the mound.

“I remember coming in to pitch to try to close the game out, and I struck a guy out, then walked the next guy,” Jones said.

Riley thought it was a strike.

“(Jones) threw a pitch right down the middle, but the umpire walked (the batter) and that’s when coach came out the dugout and looked at me and said I’m going in, I’m like, ‘Really?’”

Riley came to the mound, adrenaline pumping, and prepared to face Houlka’s No. 1 hitter Chris Huggins with the bases loaded.

Suddenly, the game didn’t seem like a sure win anymore.

“I was on such a high, the bases loaded with two outs, and a grand slam would win the game for them,” Riley said. “I got my signal and I start my wind up, But I’m so amped up, I get halfway through my windup and forgot the call was a curveball, but I have my fastball grip. I fumbled on the way up and it hit the plate and shot up towards the home side dug out,

“I didn’t think their coaches would send his third baseman (Greg Naule) home and it caught us off guard at first, but I will never forget (catcher Drew Burns) made the perfect slide on his knees to grab the ball and pitch it to me, and I got on the plate in time to tag him out.”

As the umpire called Naule out, Riley was ambushed by his teammates. Riley was the MVP of the game.

“It was kind of surreal,” Davis said. “I couldn’t believe that’s how it ended, and we were champs right then and there. But I didn’t care how it ended, it was a really big moment and we knew how tough it was to get to state.”