NATCHEZ — If the Natchez 10-year-old All-Star team is going to win the 2009 Mississippi Dixie Youth AAA South State Tournament, it is going to have to rely on good pitching and timely hitting.

The Natchez 10-year-old All-Stars, the District 6 champion, will take on the Laurel Americans, the District 5 runner-up, in Game 2 of the tournament at 6 p.m. Friday. The tournament is in Hattiesburg.

“The key to winning is using your pitchers in a nine-team tournament over six days,” Natchez 10-year-old All-Stars coach Gary Farmer said. “Pitching is a big strategy to winning South State. You don’t want to go to the loser’s bracket.”

As far as hitting is concerned, Farmer said he wants the team to hit the ball like it did in the district-championship clincher over McComb — and not like it did at times during the sub-district tournament.

“The hitting came around against McComb the last game of district. Hopefully, that will continue on to the South State Tournament,” Farmer said. “I feel like we’ve got to put the hits together instead of spacing them. We’ve left too many runners in scoring position.”

Farmer added that the pitchers will have to hit their spots and pitch to the their locations to keep the opposing team’s hitters off-balanced.

After falling short of winning the state tournament, Farmer said the players are eager to get on the field and play.

“These boys are fired up and ready to go,” he said.

If Natchez defeats the Laurel Americans, it will take on District 7 champion Pascagoula, which received a first-round bye at 4 p.m. Saturday.