NATCHEZ &045; Something was a little off.

From the first pitch between Cathedral and Bogue Chitto at Chester Willis Field Tuesday, it seemed the two clubs were enduring a season opener rather than each one’s third District 7-1A game of the year.

Green Wave head coach Craig Beesley was shifting personnel around due to circumstances; the Bobcats were oling about every ball hit toward them; and both starting pitchers went well past 100 as they fought to gain control on the mound.

Still, Cathedral, being the seasoned lineup it is, took what the Bobcats gift wrapped and finished off Bogue Chitto late in the sixth 14-4.

Garrett Jones’ two-out, 2-RBI single capped a six-run bottom of the sixth, putting Bogue Chitto out of its misery a half inning early.

&uot;Early in the game we were way out in front, and that was causing us to pop a lot of pitches up,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;We stayed back more later in the game. We looked a lot better hitting the ball the second time around.&uot;

Jones was one of five Green Wave (10-2, 3-0) players to collect two hits.

Cathedral’s Nos. 6, 7 and 9 men were a combined 5 for 10, including junior Andrew Ellard, who smashed a one-out, RBI-triple in the second to give the Green Wave its first lead, 3-2.

The bottom of the second swung the momentum in Cathedral’s favor.

The Green Wave tied the score at 2 after one inning despite not collecting a single hit. Bogue Chitto committed three consecutive errors, which led to a pair of runs.

&uot;We’ve had trouble all year long with controlling our errors,&uot; said Bobcats head coach Adam Moak, whose team committed a total of eight errors for the game. &uot;I don’t know what the problem is. We’ve gotta quit taking innings off.&uot;

Second baseman Nick Anderson, in for Michael Blain, who was behind the plate due to an illness to starter Drew Burns and the recent move to Baton Rouge by backup catcher John Holleman, had a gritty at-bat to lead of the second.

Anderson ran the count full, fouled off several of Joseph Hart’s offerings and then drove the ninth pitch to center field for a single.

&uot;Nick had two good at-bats for us,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;That first one, he battled and got a hit. The second he kept fouling pitches off and got a walk out of it.&uot;

Anderson scored on Ellard’s opposite field triple, and Ellard pushed the Cathedral lead out to 4-2 when he trotted home on a Blain sacrifice fly.

After spotting Bogue Chitto two runs in the first, Green Wave ace Te Riley (4-0) settled in during the middle innings, not allowing a hit between the second and fourth innings and pitching out of a huge jam in the second.

&uot;(Riley) threw well. He’s got a good breaking ball that keeps you on your toes,&uot; Moak said.

Riley hit Chad Moak to lead the second off and followed that up by issuing a full-count walk to Daniel Howard, the seventh man in the order.

A consensus clutch pitcher, Riley bared down to retire the side with strikeouts after both runners had moved into scoring position off a past ball.

&uot;In crucial situations, (Riley) bows his neck for us,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;Coach (Ken) Beesley says he thinks (Riley) throws better with runners on rather than having empty bases. It seems like he concentrates more.&uot;

Riley struck out 11 for the game and only yielded five hits throughout.

&uot;Out of the five hits they got, I think about three of them came on 0-2 counts,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;(Riley) settled in after the first inning. Every now and then he’d walk one, but he’d come right back.&uot;

Hart’s off-speed junk combined with a enticing knuckler caused many a Green Wave batter to pop out Tuesday.

Cathedral batters gave a lot of pitches a ride, but with a strong wind blowing in from straightaway center the balls either ended in outs or more Bobcat errors.

The most notable exception was Jeremy Davis’ two-run blast in the fourth to put the Green Wave up 8-2.