By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

HATTIESBURG — Not that there isn’t always some degree of pressure on a defending state champion in any sport entering a new season, but for the George County baseball team their female counterparts turned it up a notch over the weekend.

The Lady Rebels captured the Class 6A State championship with a 10-7 win in game three of that series against perennial state power Neshoba Central Saturday. Now, as the Rebel baseball team heads towards Trustmark Park this week for the second year in a row, the team has just a bit more to play for when it meets Saltillo in the Class 6A state baseball championship match-up.

That’s because George County can become the first school in the “Southern Six” to win both a fast-pitch softball state title and a baseball state championship in the same season in history.

No pair of teams from the same school has been able to accomplish that feat in the almost three decades that the Mississippi High School Activities Association has been handing out state fast-pitch softball trophies.

But the Rebels, who swept Warren Central in the state finals last year, can do just that if they can find a way to get past the Tigers this week in Pearl.

“That would be awesome,” veteran GCHS head coach Brandon Davis, who is in his 14th season at the helm of his alma mater, said. “The fact that we both made it this far in the same season is a reflection of the time and effort that our community and school have put into these student athletes. I was very proud of the girls. Now, we’re going to try.”

Game one is set for Tuesday night at 7 p.m., with game two to follow Wednesday night at the same time. Ironically enough, those are the same days that the GCHS girls played games one and two as well last week against the Lady Rockets.

A third and final game in the baseball state title affair would be contested on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Again, ironically enough, that’s the same time slot that the Lady Rebels occupied at The University of Southern Mississippi Softball Complex to win their second state title in three seasons this weekend.

The Rebels will be shooting for consecutive state baseball championships for the first-time in program history this week. And with its entire starting line-up returning next year, the Lady Rebels will have their sights set on accomplishing that same feat.