NATCHEZ — The year has changed, but the expectations have not.

A year after the then Natchez 8s won a state title they’re back in the driver’s seat looking for a repeat.

July 25 the Natchez 9s will begin their quest for a repeat title when they take-on Cleveland-East at 8 p.m. in Hattiesburg.

One change from last year’s tournament to this year’s is the format.

Instead of a traditional best-of-3 North vs. South showdown, the Mississippi state title will be decided by a four-team, round robin style tournament.

Joining Natchez will be Canton and Cleveland, the North winners and runners-up, as well as Copiah, the South’s runners-up.

While some fans may be in favor of the new tournament, Natchez coach Gary Farmer is not among them.

Farmer said a best-of-3 format is “the way it should be.”

“We’ve already beat (Copiah) four times in this tournament, so why should they be sent to the state tournament,” Farmer said in reference to Natchez’s four wins over Copiah in the district and south state rounds of the tournament.

In the four games, Natchez has won — in order — 16-1, 8-7, 10-3 and 9-8.

In fact, over the course of this season and last, Natchez is 8-1 against Copiah.

Although Natchez has owned Copiah over the last two years, Farmer doesn’t necessarily see that as an advantage heading into the state tournament.

“I don’t think it’s an advantage at all,” Farmer said. “It’s almost a disadvantage. Odds may catch-up with us. At some point we’re going to have a bad game against them.”

In preparation for the state tournament, Farmer has given his team a few days off, with practice scheduled to resume Monday.

Leading up to the tournament, the Natchez 9s will concentrate on hitting.

According to Farmer, his team’s batting average has dropped from .500 to .400 since the beginning of the state tournament.

“We’ve got to get our bats back,” Farmer said. “If we can hit the ball like I know we can, we won’t have any problem.”

Farmer attributes being on the road and living out of suitcases in hotels as the reason for the team’s decline at the plate.

Making another run through the tournament will require some strategy this year when deciding which pitcher to start when.

“I’m not sure who we’ll throw,” Farmer said. “Do we save our pitching for Canton, or use our ace against Copiah? There’ll be a little strategy involved. Hopefully we’ll pick the right one.”

Pressure won’t only be on the coach to make the right calls from the dugout Friday, pressure will also be on the players — although Farmer doesn’t think they mind it.

Pressure is something this team thrives on, according to Farmer.

“They’re the best team I’ve ever coached as far as handling pressure,” Farmer said. “It doesn’t seem like pressure bothers them. It seems like pressure fires them up and they play better under pressure.”

Friday night, the pressure — and the spotlight — will be on.