NATCHEZ — Cathedral’s baseball season may have ended on a sour note, but coach Craig Beesley just hopes that’s more motivation for next season.

The Green Wave’s season came to an end with a 3-2 loss to East Webster Saturday in Game 3 of the South State championship series. They finished with a 24-7 record.

However, the team loses only three seniors to graduation so they should be expected to contend for the Class 1A South State championship again next season.

“Getting this close to Pearl (site of the State Championship series) gives us something to shoot for next year,” Beesley said. “If we get back in this situation next year we’ll be prepared.”

While the team should be a contender next season, the success they enjoyed this past season came as a bit of a surprise.

“We were never expected to get as far as we did,” Beesley said. “I was proud of the way we performed. It’s never easy to lose but we had a very successful season.”

Beesley said a key to the Green Wave’s success was the togetherness of the team.

“We really played together as a team,” he said. “We didn’t have any kids that were more concerned with their stats. It was all about the team. They really came together in the playoffs and played their best ball then.”

Another key was the Green Wave’s undefeated record at Chester Willis Field.

“When the season starts, you always want to play well at home,” Beesley said. “We never expected to be undefeated there. As the season went on, we made it one of our goals. They really rose to the occasion.”

Beesley said Cathedral is really going to miss their three seniors, Blase Bradford, Braxton Fondren and Jesse Morrison.

“It’s not just their athletic abilities but their leadership that we’re going to miss,” Beesley said. “You could always depend on them to come through when the pressure was on. All three were a big asset to our success this year.”