NATCHEZ — Cathedral High School will greet its playoff opponent with a lineup full of baby faces. 

Generally, a Cathedral High batting lineup consists of five sophomores and two freshmen.

Therefore, the team’s identity is a young one. In fact, when last year’s starting third baseman Hayden Nunnery suffered a season-ending shoulder injury this season as a sophomore, he was replaced by another sophomore in Reed White.

“It really is a great young group,” head coach Craig Beesley said. “We’ve got 10 or 12 sophomores and freshmen that can flat out play.”

The team may be young in age, but freshman Craig Bradley, who has a team-best .410 batting average, attests that it is a scrappy group.

“If the first pitch is a fastball down the middle, I won’t hesitate to go after it,” Bradley said.

Because of the Green Wave’s youth, Cathedral has experienced growing pains at certain parts of the season, despite its 14-5 record.

That’s the nature of the business for Beesley. He knows with young players, the unexpected occurs.

Beesley said the team will sometimes have lapses in the middle of the inning after getting two outs. More often than not, the young players are saved by their athleticism.

“Their athletic ability has overcome some of the errors at times,” Beesley said. “I’m hoping that we’re peaking right before the playoffs.”

Second on the team in batting average is sophomore Andrew Beesley with a .386 average, and right behind Beesley is fellow sophomore Jacob Jenkins, who boasts a .348 average. Jenkins, who is called J.J. by his teammates, possesses a strong arm in left field and has thrown out numerous runners at home this season.

Beesley said having Jenkins as his ninth hitter is like having two leadoff batters with senior Thomas Garrity coming behind him.

“It’s not about size,” Jenkins said. “As far as hitting goes, coach has me batting in the right spot in the order. I see good pitches.”

Ty Brown, who is one of three seniors on the club, enjoys goofing off with his younger, lively teammates, but he also knows he has to be a leader on and off the field, which can result in frustration from pressure.

“Older players, myself included, get frustrated when we don’t make plays,” Brown said. “Being an upperclassman, you know the team looks up to you, and it’s frustrating when you mess up.”

Throughout the season, Brown has batted third in the lineup, and he’s followed by freshman Zac Flattmann. Flattmann played last season as an eighth grader, and Flattmann, who Brown referred to as the “hoss,” is now the heavy bat in the lineup.

“It’s nice being put in that position at a young age,” Flattmann said.

Focus and concentration is what Beesley believes will be the key ingredient to his team’s postseason success. Allowing his team to play loose without feeling the weight of the situation is Beesley’s plan for the playoffs.

“We want to make sure we don’t put too much pressure on them,” Beesley said. “I think these kids have played so much baseball, they understand what’s at stake without me repeating it.”

Though his team might not be as mature as some playoff foes, Beesley said he believes his team has matured tremendously over the season, hopefully leading to a bright postseason and future for Cathedral baseball.