St. Patrick surges to top of Sun Herald rankings; Rebels still No. 1

Class 3A power St. Patrick is off to another impressive run to open the 2016 softball season.

The Lady Fighting Irish are already 6-0 and have climbed to the top of the Sun Herald's latest softball rankings after knocking off former No. 1 Harrison Central 10-3.

Like St. Patrick, George County's baseball team (4-1) was a unanimous decision to top the publication's baseball rankings.

The Rebels went 2-1 last week and were boasted by Walker Robbins' 18-strikeout perfect game against Greene County.

Rounding out the baseball top 10 is No. 2 Ocean Springs (5-1), No. 3 Harrison Central (4-1), No. 4 Gulfport (4-2), No. 5 Biloxi (4-1) and No. 6 D'Iberville (2-3). West Harrison (4-2) and St. Patrick (4-0) tied at No. 7, while Hancock (4-2), Vancleave (4-1) and Long Beach (1-4) all tied at No. 9. St. Stanislaus (2-3), East Central (1-3) and Pascagoula (1-4) dropped out of the poll, while Pearl River Central (4-2) received votes.

The Hurricanes are coming off of a 2-2 week with wins over Moss Point and Pearl River Central. Coach David Marsland said the key for his team moving forward will be finding an ace and getting reliable pitching.

"Our pitching is going to dictate how we go," he said Monday. "If they're good, we have a shot."

Marsland believes Dylan Cagle could emerge in time as the staff's ace. In the mean time, he said Kasey Donaldson, Cade Simon and Tate Parker have all been reliable. Including Hunter Simmons, who has been a swing option for West Harrison, the 'Canes pitching staff has struck out 17 against seven walks in 19 2/3 innings.

"We're a long way from where we need to be but we're starting to get there," he said. "If our pitching can continue and hold up, I really think our offense is going to get better as the year goes."

Softball

Like the baseball poll, there was plenty of changes within the softball rankings. Harrison Central (2-2) slipped one spot to no. 2 and West Harrison (3-2) and St. Martin (2-1) tied at No. 3. No. 5 East Central (4-1-1), No. 6 Poplarville (5-0), No. 7 Long Beach (2-2), No. 8 Picayune (4-2) and No. 9 Hancock (3-1) all jumped around a bit, with Ocean Springs (4-4-1), George County (1-2-1) and Biloxi (4-1-1) all tied for the 10th spot.

This week's schedule won't get any easier for St. Patrick. The Lady Fighting Irish played four Class 6A schools last week and they'll once again play up this week against Class 5A power Neshoba Central and 6A's St. Martin.

"I try to play the best schedule we can," St. Patrick coach Tommy Castanedo said. "Knowing all the schools along the Gulf Coast, I try to schedule our teams to play the better pitching so when we get into conference we're not overwhelmed by anything we'll see."

Castanedo is excited to see how his teams stack up this week against two of the better programs in the state.

"Neshoba Central is ranked No. 1 in the state and probably has one of the top pitchers (Aspen Wesley) in the state. They're super athletic and very comparable to (Class 3A opponent) Philadelphia," he said. "St. Martin equally as good. You have Rebecca Anderson pitching and then (Katelyn) Gruich and (Emily) Stansbury who can really hit. They're one of the top three teams on the Gulf Coast.

"You always want to try and challenge yourself. That's how you improve and learn."

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 9:41 PM with the headline "St. Patrick surges to top of Sun Herald rankings; Rebels still No. 1 ."