NATCHEZ — Cathedral High School starting pitcher Gabe Smith said he was unaware he had pitched five hitless innings in the his team’s 5-3 win against Heritage Academy Saturday.

Instead, Smith was focused on completing the game and punching Cathedral’s ticket to the MAIS AAA semifinals.

Smith lasted 6.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits and four walks. Pitcher Sam Parker converted a one-out save with the go-ahead run at the plate to clinch Cathedral’s two-game sweep.

“I wanted (to get the last out),” Smith said. “When I was getting runners on, I struggled out of the stretch and lost the zone.”

Cathedral moves on to the MAIS AAA semifinals against Indianola.

Cathedral gouged Heritage starter Logan Sneed for two runs in the third inning. With two men on and the game tied 1-1, Cathedral first baseman Pate Shirley cleared the bases with a two-RBI triple.

“I was picking it up well out of (Sneed’s) hand (Saturday),“ Shirley said. “He left me one down the middle, and I drove it to center field. That put us up big time.”

Coach Craig Beelsey said Heritage saved its ace pitcher in hopes of getting a better matchup against Cathedral’s No. 2 pitcher.

In the fourth inning, third baseman Reed White reached base on an error and advanced into scoring position on a ground out.

A wild pitch got past Heritage catcher Dylan Barker, and White scored from second when the ball rolled to the backstop. Beesley said he expects base runners to be aggressive on wild pitches, even when running from second base.

“A lot of teams don’t have the (backstop) we have,” Beesley said. “It’s a big apron we have back there. It’s to our advantage, because we know how it plays.”

Smith, who issued three of his four walks in the first three innings, said he gained command of his breaking ball as the game progressed and felt more comfortable pitching from the windup.

Beesley said Smith left pitches over the plate in the fifth inning when Heritage capitalized on a leadoff single — the Patriots’ first hit — and a one-out walk to score two more runs.

After the fifth inning, Smith retired five-consecutive batters before allowing a base hit to Heritage leadoff man, Tyler Anderson.

“I thought he caught a second wind in the sixth inning,” Beesley said. “I knew in my mind that if he let a runner on, we would go to (Parker).”

Parker walked the first batter he faced before inducing a fielder’s choice to end the game. The East Central Community College signee was pitching on two-days rest after he pitched seven scoreless innings in Wednesday’s 6-0 win.

Smith struck out three Heritage batters Saturday.

White was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Craig Bradley was 1-for-4 with a run scored.

Patrons not only filled the grandstands, but also packed the lawn behind the left- and right-field walls, sitting on the tailgates of their pickup trucks to take in Cathedral’s playoff game.

“I love playing for a full ballpark,” Smith said.

Shirley said the Green Wave feel like their MAIS opponents all want a chance to knock off the 2015 MHSAA 1A champions.

“(Indianola) beat us in basketball and football,“ Shirley said. “We’re not going to let them take baseball from us.”

Cathedral travels to Indianola for Game 1 at 6 p.m. Tuesday, riding a 15-game winning streak. The Green Wave host Game 2 and a conditional Game 3 at Chester Willis Field Saturday.

“It’s down to four teams now, and we only need four wins,” Beesley said. “They’ve played the best ball they’ve played all year, and hopefully we can get four wins out of them.”