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NATCHEZ – Cathedral softball plays its last home game Thursday before heading into a critical series of district road games.

“We really toughened our scheduled up this year and played good competition,” said head coach Craig Beesley. “Our next five games will let us know if we’re really ready for playoffs.”

Cathedral is coming off a 10-4 win over cross-town rival Adams County Christian School on Tuesday. After a slow start in the game, the Green Wave rallied behind pitcher Lily Crum who threw 16 strikeouts. “She pitched well,” Beesley said. “Our defense played well and our pitching was good; we’ve just got to be a little more consistent with our bats.”

The Green Wave hosts MAIS 5A district rival Brookhaven Academy at 6 p.m. today. On Saturday, the Green Wave travels to Brookhaven for the Cougar Classic. “We’ll be playing Park Lane and Oak Forest,” Beesley said. “Then we play Copiah Academy and Oak Forest Academy on the Monday and Tuesday of the next week.”

At 15-4, Cathedral currently sits at No. 2 in the district, behind Copiah Academy, followed by St. Aloysius in Vicksburg and Adams County Christian School. The top four teams in the district will advance to South State playoffs. “A lot can change in the next two weeks,” Beesley said.

However, strong leadership among juniors and the lone senior are helping the team this year, he said. “Last year we didn’t have any seniors, and this year we just have arlie Hargon – she has really stepped up as our only senior and as a leader,” Beesley said. Core juniors include K.G. Fisher at short stop; Crum at pitcher; Madelyn Fielder at centerfield; Liza Gregg at catcher; and Kinlsee Young at third base.

“We made it to the third round of South State last year,” Beesley said. “This year we want to take that to the next step and get to state.”