NATCHEZ — A six run first turn at-bat was all St. Aloysius pitcher Stephen Evans would need to give the Flashes a huge road playoff win over archrival Cathedral.

Evans got two big double plays to end late inning rallies by the Green Waves to claim a 6-2 win Thursday night at Chester Willis Field in Game 1 of the Class 1A South State championship series. St. Al (19-7) will try to close out the series in tonight’s Game 2 at 6 at Bazinsky Field.

“I was glad my defense was behind me,” Evans said of the complete-game effort. The win was his third straight in the playoffs after losing the opening game at Edinburg. Evans improves to 10-4 this season and the win against the Green Waves went a long way to erasing the worst loss of his career, when Cathedral run-ruled him in a 12-0 defeat at Bazinsky Field earlier this season.

“I just focused on hitting my spots. Hit my spots, mix up my speeds and pitches. And my defense helped a lot,” Evans said.