ST. CATHARINE, Ky. — Coach Luther Bramlett hopes this is theyear for his St. Catharine College Patriots. They have never beento the NJCAA Division II World Series. His team’s three SuperRegional opponents, Co-Lin, Lenoir (N.C.), and Itawamba, all havemade that coveted appearance in Millington, Tenn.

The host Patriots (35-8) drew their first Southeast Districtopponent today, meeting Itawamba (40-14) at 2:30 p.m. CDT. Co-Lin(27-25-1) faced Lenoir (36-15) in the 11 a.m. game.

Win or lose, all four teams play Friday in thedouble-elimination tournament. Today’s losers play at 9 a.m. andtoday’s winners play at 1 p.m. A 4 p.m. game will send the Game 3winner against the Game 4 loser.

The Patriots were runners-up to St. Louis-Forest Park in lastyear’s regional, losing 15-12 and falling just short of the WorldSeries.

“We are a pressure-oriented offense,” said Bramlett. “We like tobunt and run. We don’t hit many home runs but we get a lot ofdoubles and triples.”

Freshman outfielder Shane Simpkins leads the Patriots with a.375 batting average. He’s hit 5 homers, 10 doubles and has 53RBIs.

Third baseman Tyler Tucker is batting .373, with 5 homers, 12doubles, 11 triples and 42 RBIs. Catcher Kyle Wells bats .373.

On the mound, the Patriots are led by sophomore southpaw BradWarner (9-1) who has a 1.65 ERA. He has 64 strikeouts to hiscredit.

Wolves Test Lancers

Coach Keith Case’s Co-Lin Wolves want to keep their Cinderellastory going in the Super Regional. They won the Region 23 Southcrown by shocking No. 1-ranked Pearl River in the finals, beatingthe Wildcats twice in the tournament.

Directing Co-Lin at the plate is sophomore shortstop PatrickWilliams (.379) of Crystal Springs. The Delta State signee leadsthe team with 9 home runs and 45 RBIs.

Sophomore second baseman Jody Britt of Brookhaven (Loyd Star) isbatting .368. He’s hit 4 homers, 14 doubles and has 33 RBIs.

Freshman outfielder Xavier Qualls of Brookhaven has a .357batting average. He has 20 stolen bases and has scored 59 runs.

On the mound, freshman Derek Thompson (6-4) of Mendenhall(Simpson Academy) started today’s opener. Sophomore Ryan Belanger(5-7) of Houma, La. is expected to start Friday’s game. Belangerhas a single-season, school-record 102 strikeouts. His ERA is2.58.

Freshman Scotty Smith (7-4), who won the region championshipgame at Pearl River, has 66 strikeouts and a 3.82 ERA.

Lenoir Has Been There

The Lancers advanced to the World Series last year under headcoach Lind Hartsell. They are led by Jes Snyder (.393) who has hit14 homers and has 66 RBIs.

Joe Wade is batting .384 and has 3 homers. Chad Dawkins (.364)has hit 3 homers and 25 RBIs.

Heading the mound staff is Michael Oglesby (9-1), with a 2.88ERA. Chris England (7-4) has a 4.22 ERA.

Itawamba Has Best Record

The Fulton-based Indians, coached by Rick Collier, were rankedNo. 11 in the final NJCAA poll. The Indians played in the 2003World Series. They beat Holmes for the North Region 23 title.

Directing the Indian attack is outfielder Andy Rice (.434) ofAmory with 19 homers, 18 doubles and 90 RBIs. He’s signed with OleMiss.

Clay Dozier (.416) of Fulton, a Delta State signee, has hit 6homers and collected 48 RBIs.

On the mound, Jared Koone (10-1) of Tupelo is the No. 1 hurler.He has a 3.84 ERA with 65 strikeouts. He’s signed with MississippiState.

Matt McKissack (9-3) of Saltillo has a 4.52 ERA and 93strikeouts.