NATCHEZ &045; He’s the new regular face on the Cathedral staff, but Garrett Jones needed no introduction or adjustment period on the mound.

Quite honestly, he’s always displayed a gun over at shortstop for the past two seasons. So when the Green Wave went to looking for another pitcher to replace Chris Norris and Brent Tosspon from a season ago, Jones was a prime candidate.

The Co-Lin signee never backed down and surely won’t tonight when he gets the call to start for the Green Wave in its playoff opener against Scott Central at 7 p.m. at Chester Willis Field.

&uot;I knew we needed pitching, and I knew I had to step up and make myself pitch,&uot; Jones said. &uot;I have pitched before, and it didn’t take long (to get comfortable). I got out, started throwing a little bit and got in a groove. (Control) didn’t take me long to get over. It took longer to get the curveball over than the fastball over, but I used to throw it a while back.&uot;

Although he had enough starts last season to count on one hand and have fingers left over, Jones has blossomed into a quality starter on a staff that’s got to be one of the deepest in Class 1A.

While most 1A teams will go one with one ace pitcher and may have the luxury of having two strong arms, the Green Wave likes its standing with Jones, senior Te Riley and hard-throwing sophomore Corey Walker.

Riley will likely get the start on Saturday, while Walker will start the third game of the three-day tournament.

A Green Wave win today would put it facing the winner of the Union-Enterprise game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

&uot;I think we’re a lot stronger this year than we were last year,&uot; Riley said. &uot;(It’s) really big &045; how deep can your pitching go? When you play three or four games within five days, you can’t have two or three pitchers. You’ve got to have enough to carry you through. Corey has really stepped up this year like we knew he could.

&uot;Bigger teams we’ve played &045; Jena, Vidalia and Brookhaven &045; they can match up with us. In 1A, we’re pretty solid in pitching. I don’t think there’s any team that can throw (like us).&uot;

This year’s Cathedral staff is plenty deeper than its predecessors from each of the past two years. Both of those teams got past the first round of the playoffs with Riley heading up a three-man staff last year and the Green Wave basically rotating two pitchers en route to a South State appearance in 2002.

&uot;It’s going to take at least four pitchers this weekend,&uot; Cathedral head coach Craig Beesley said. &uot;We’re looking for four people to pitch, even if we win three games in a row. I’ve got three starters and two more I can bring in if I need to. That’s what’s good about this tournament the first week &045; pitching is going to be a big part of it. Some pitchers can pitch Friday and come back Monday &045; some coaches do it, but it’s not the best thing for a kid’s arm.&uot;

The Green Wave hopes not to be in that situation. The schedule for starters could work to its advantage with Riley coming in for what could be a semifinal contest. He’s been sharp with his curveball at times, and the results have usually been rather positive.

But it’s up to Jones in tonight’s game to start off on the right foot. There’s also Jeremy Davis and Preston Hicks available in relief.

&uot;Garrett has come a long way,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;He’s probably 20 pounds heavier than he was last year, and he’s probably about 6-1. He’s got a good breaking ball he can control for strikes. Pitching is a lot about confidence, and he’s gotten his confidence back since the beginning of the season.&uot;

Aside from pitching, the biggest worry for Cathedral heading into this tournament is hitting the slow breaking stuff. The word may be out around the state after the Green Wave struggled in a 10-0 defeat at the hands of Brookhaven where Brooks Hall tossed a no-hitter at a team that came in just blazing at the plate.

It was the slider on the outside part of the plate that gave the team fits, and it’s been the focus of practice this week.

&uot;We have trouble with slow pitchers,&uot; Jones said. &uot;We’ll work on staying back on the ball, hitting it up the middle and trying to get base hits. We need to sit back and drive it up the middle. Coach said Scott Central is going to throw about 75 percent curveballs. That (loss) was our third Saturday game, and the three games we lost this year have all been on Saturdays.&uot;