NATCHEZ — An offensive outburst in Game 1 and strong pitching in Game 2 gave the Cathedral High School softball team a sweep in the second round of the MHSAA Class 1A South State playoffs Friday.

Cathedral defeated Noxapater High School 17-0 and 2-0 in its two-game set. With the wins, Cathedral (17-4-1) will turn its attention this week to Sebastopol High School in the third round of the playoffs.

Coming into Friday’s series, the Lady Green Wave hadn’t played any games for two weeks, their last game being a 2-0 win against McComb April 13. Despite the long layoff, Cathedral didn’t show any rust.

“That’s what we were worried about,” head coach Gary Blackwell said. “We went 14 days without a game, and you can only practice so much. I think this team’s attitude is just good.”

Ranked No. 1 in Class 1A by www.hssportsms.com, Blackwell said his girls aren’t paying any attention to being considered No. 1.

“That’s one thing that’s not on anybody’s mind,” Blackwell said. “When we first got there we were proud about it. But now we don’t talk about it.”

The Lady Green Wave will travel to Sebastopol for Game 1 of its three-game set Thursday.

Cathedral baseball

After getting a blowout win in Game 1 against French Camp Academy Thursday, the Green Wave played poorly in its two-game set against the Panthers Friday night.

Cathedral dropped Game 2 6-3 but won Game 3 3-0 to advance to the third round of the Class 1A South State playoffs.

The Green Wave offense seemed to have a poor approach at the plate Friday night, constantly swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. The Cathedral hitters also generated a ton of pop-ups, which kept the Green Wave from getting anything going offensively.

“We have some kids that swing at anything close, and they have to be more selective, especially early in the count,” head coach Craig Beelsey said after the game.

“(There were) too many fly balls, and if you don’t make them work on defense, it’s going to be hard to get runs. When you pop up a lot, like we did tonight, they make for easy plays.”

The Green Wave (14-7) will face Pelahatchie High School, with Game 1 being at Pelahatchie at 6 p.m. Friday. The Green Wave will host Games 2 and 3 Saturday.

Centreville Academy baseball

The Tigers tamed Simpson Academy in their second-round series of the MAIS Class AA South State playoffs last week. After winning Game 1 on the road 9-2 Tuesday, the Tigers took Game 2 at home 4-2.

Centreville (23-4) now turns its attention to Brookhaven Academy, which split with the Tigers during the regular season. Head coach Jason Horne said he expects a good series in the South State championship series this week.

“We beat them 5-2 and they beat us 4-3,” Horne said. “It’s going to be a great series. We played them in the South State championship two years ago, and they beat us twice at their place after we won the first game at home. Our kids will be up for the challenge.”

Game 1 is at 7 p.m. today at Centreville.