If an uninitiated observer was watching Thursday’s game between St. Aloysius and Cathedral, they’d assume that Cathedral was the defending Class 1A champion.

The Green Wave (12-0, 4-0) showed some swagger as they swept the season series with their archrivals with a rousing 12-0 decision that clinched the Division 7-1A title.

St. Al (11-2, 4-2) dropped its second game in a row in harrowing fashion, looking nothing like the defending Class 1A champions that were undefeated just a week ago. Ace pitcher Stephen Evans gave up two home runs, eight hits and nine runs. The defense was more porous than a piece of pumice, with six errors, two passed balls and countless other mental lapses. And the offense managed just two runners in scoring position with a cavalcade of easy flyouts and weak tappers.

“Right now, we got beat by a much better team than we are,” St. Al coach Clint Wilkerson said. “Three weeks ago, that wouldn’t have happened. We’ve picked the worst time of year to be playing our worst baseball. That’s embarrassing. We haven’t shown up in 14 innings.”

Cathedral Aaron White (3-0) was dominant, holding the powerful St. Al lineup in check. He gave up just four hits with four strikeouts and mixed in a curveball he could throw for strikes with a heavy fastball.

“There’s no other feeling like it,” White said. “My curveball was working for me and I was just painting the corners. I’ve never had so much adrenaline out here with all of the fans. I was just on tonight.”

The Cathedral offense worked beautifully to support White’s efforts. Tyler Ballard and Caleb Johnson blasted a three-run bomb apiece. Ballard’s blast gave the Green Wave an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first and Johnson’s shot proved to be a mortal wound in a four-run sixth inning.

Ballard finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs, while Johnson finished 2-for-4 with a triple in addition to his homer.

“If we keep swinging the bats like we’re doing, we’re going to be okay,” Cathedral coach Craig Beesley said. “That was a big series win against St. Al, because we know how good they are. We’ve got district wrapped up, but our goal is to end up in the playoffs against them in South State.”

The closest that St. Al came to denting the scoreboard was in the fourth inning with Cathedral leading 5-0. Blake Haygood led off the frame with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch by White and headed to third on a flyout to center by Ryno Martin-Nez, playing his first game in the field following knee surgery.  Stephen Evans singled to left, but Haygood was frozen at third by the relay throw. White struck out Reed Evans and induced a weak grounder by Regan Nosser to quell the threat.

Wilkerson promised wholesale changes as he tries to re-ignite the Flashes’ confidence and get them back on track with the heart of their schedule coming up.

“We’re about to get after it,” Wilkerson said. “We’re going to pound it in practice. I’m not saying we haven’t been, but we’re fixing to change some things. My hats off to them (Cathedral), at this point in the season, they’re 12 runs better than us.”

Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com