High School Softball: St. Patrick and Harrison Central to square off Friday

Both the Harrison Central and St. Patrick softball teams have first round byes, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be waiting in the on-deck circle when the playoffs start across the state tomorrow.
Instead, the two powerhouses will take the diamond together for the second time this year. Back on March 3rd, the Red Rebelettes and Lady Irish played at St. Patrick where three-time defending 6A state champion Harrison Central imposed its will with a 7-1 win.
Since then both teams have rolled through the remainder of the regular season, unblemished in district play for their respective classifications. Now they meet again as one final barometer before the grind of the post season officially begins.
Harrison Central Head Coach Jimmy Parker said, “Well, they’re going to come ready to play. They’re trying to get ready for the same thing we are. They’re going to play hard. They’re going to come and they’re going to challenge us, and that’s what we need. We need to be challenged every game right now.”
St. Patrick Shortstop Morgan McCrea said, “It’s really going to help prepare us for later in the playoffs because Harrison Central has a good ball club and we’re really just battling to see who’s the best team on the Gulf Coast.”
St. Patrick Centerfielder Raylen Blackwell said, “When we first played them I think we were coming off the high of beating Neshoba and we kind of just rolled over and we kind of just fell with it, but this time we’re ready and we’ve got that fire to go get it.”
The 6A Red Rebelettes and 3A Lady Irish lead things off at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow from Harrison Central.