Ferriday — The Ferriday Gators are on their way to Pineville, La., today for the opening ceremony of the 16- and17-year-old Dixie Youth softball state tournament.
Tonight, they will attend a banquet that will reveal the tournament’s bracket before opening play Saturday.
When it came to the district tournament, head coach Rut Horne said he at least has heard of the other teams, but they won’t have a clue who they’re up against.
“As far as scouting teams, we don’t even know who they are,” Horne said.

Horne said he doesn’t see this as a problem, and he is confident that his team will do well in the double-elimination tournament.
“We’re 22-1-2 on the season, and we’ve done quite well,” Horne said. “This is the strongest team I’ve ever had.”
Horne said he is especially proud of the Gators’ defense up to this point.
“We only gave up two runs in our last four games. Our defense is playing very well,” he said.
Horne said he has high hopes that his team is competitive enough to make it to the World Series championship.
“Fortunately, the World Series is in Alexandria, La., this year, so it’s close enough for us to be the home team,” Horne said.
Ferriday Belles
The Ferriday Belles are also headed to the state tournament for ages 13-15 in Marrero, La.
Head coach Jeanie Beach said she would attend a meeting tonight to find out who the Belles will play Saturday in the double-elimination tournament.
Beach said they’ve practiced hard this past week in preparation for the big stage.
“We’ve practiced with different pitchers, we’ve worked on our short game and we’ve worked on some trick plays in case we need that one score,” Beach said.
Trick plays will prepare the Belles for the worst-case scenario, but Beach said that if her players put their minds to it, everything should go smoothly.
“We need to put the bat on the ball and continue doing what we’ve been doing all year,” Beach said. “I feel like we’re prepared for anything. As long as we do the best that we can do, we’ll be satisfied.”