NATCHEZ — Only three victories separate the Natchez Dixie Youth 9-year-old All-Stars from a second state championship in as many years.

However, there are three other teams that are determined to stand in their way.

After an undefeated run through the district and South State tournaments, the Natchez All-Stars need only to clear one final hurdle.

The state tournament begins in Hattiesburg Friday night at 6 p.m.

Instead of the usual double-elimination format of most tournaments, the state tournament has a round robin format consisting of four teams.

The first and second place teams from the North and the South will face off for the championship.

The North No. 1 is Canton while the No. 2 team from the North is Cleveland East.

Natchez is the No. 1 team from the South while Copiah is the South’s No. 2 team.

The tournament begins at 6 p.m. Friday with Canton facing off against Copiah. Natchez will then play Cleveland East at 8 p.m.

Each team will play two games on Saturday.

The first game Saturday is at 11 a.m. between Canton and Cleveland East.

Natchez will face Copiah at 1 p.m. and then come back out at 6 p.m. to play Canton.

The final game Saturday will be at 8 p.m. between Cleveland East and Copiah.

If a team makes it out of the three round robin games with a 3-0 record, they will be crowned state champions.

If there are two or more teams teams with one loss, there will be games Sunday evening to determine a champion.

Natchez won the state championship last year as 8-year-olds in the coach pitch division and has many of the same players on this years’ team who are going for back-to-back titles.

Each of Natchez’s games can be heard on Kiss 97.3 with Natchez Dixie Youth Commissioner Porky Smith providing play by play commentary.