Region 8-3A is expected to be very competitive on the baseball diamond in 2025.
Four of the six teams in the region made the postseason last year, including two that reached the state championship finals.
St. Patrick and St. Stanislaus will both be looking to make another playoff run.
The Irish posted a 17-13-1 record in 2024 and advanced to the third round of the 3A playoffs before being swept by Southeast Lauderdale.
St. Patrick outfielder-pitcher Cohen Weinhofer (.286, 23 runs, 22 RBIs) graduated, but the Irish return seven seniors, including Jacob Alexander, a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College signee who batted .324 last year with two home runs and 22 RBIs.
Senior Ayden Le (.378, 26 runs, 14 stolen bases) is also a key returnee. Other seniors include Chaz Beyers, Eli Bowen, James Kaigler, Andrew Lowery and Chandler Marsland.
Both Weinhofer and Le were chosen as members of the Class 3A All-State first team in 2024.
St. Patrick opens its season on Feb. 8 with a doubleheader in a tournament at Poplarville, facing Sacred Heart (Hattiesburg) at 10 a.m. at Poplarville High School and George County at 1 p.m. at Pearl River Community College.
The Rock-A-Chaws are coming off a 17-11 season in which they reached the second round of the 3A playoffs, where they dropped two of three games against Southeast Lauderdale.
SSC returns seven seniors in Sam Pike (2.10 ERA), Ethan Ferrill, Cole Shirley, Brooks Illgenfritz, Henry Nunmaker, Stephen Hutchinson and David Gremillion, but also back is junior Tate Murphy, who batted .348 last season with two homers, seven doubles and three triples.
Junior Wiley Mossy had a team-leading 30 hits and 13 stolen bases.
St. Stanislaus will also open its season in the Poplarville tournament on Feb. 8 against Sacred Heart at 11:30 a.m. and West Jones at 2:30 p.m.
Presbyterian Christian (Hattiesburg) is the newcomer in Region 8-3A, making the jump from MAIS to MHSAA. The Bobcats went 23-11 last year, dropping two of three games in the state championship series against Jackson Prep.
West Marion lost just one region game in 2024 on its way to claiming the 8-3A title and posted a 30-12 overall mark that included a state title appearance against East Webster, which swept the championship series.
The teams in Region 8-3A:
Presbyterian Christian
St. Patrick
St. Stanislaus
Tylertown
West Marion
