No matter the conditions, Sunday is practice day for the Ferriday Gators.

Through rain and shine, long-time Gators coach Rut Horne hits sharp ground balls to his players while the they go through various other drills during the sessions.

Perhaps it’s that dedication that has led the Concordia Parish-based squad to the heights it has reached in recent years.

The Gators are fresh off their third-consecutive Dixie Debs state championship and now turn their sights toward the World Series this weekend in Alexandria, La.

“This is what it takes. Every Sunday afternoon for 3 to 4 hours year round,” Horne said.

Horne’s squad has managed to record a pair of World Series runner-up finishes, but the championship has eluded the grizzled coach.

“I’d love to win it,” Horne said.

Equally, the Gator players want to give their head coach his first World Series title.

“He’s been working hard forever,” pitcher Bailey Book said. “We’ve been working hard, but not nearly as long as he has.”

Horne said he will lean heavily on the right arm of Book, Brianna Henson and Elizabeth Smith at this year’s tournament.

The veteran coach said the trio of pitchers have been the catalyst to his team’s postseason run, with Smith potentially being a difference maker at the World Series.

“We’ve been getting 10, 11, 12 strikeouts a game,” he said. “Strikeouts are going to be a premium. (The other teams) are going to put the ball in play. But, I don’t think a lot of teams have faced our caliber of pitching.”

Henson said while Horne takes the game very seriously, he still maintains a light-hearted approach.

“He’s like our grandpa,” she said. “We call him our PawPaw.”

Book agreed.

“He’s got some cool jokes. Same jokes, same jokes every time,” she said.

Win or lose, Henson said this year’s run has been memorable, and she relishes the good times she has shared with her teammates.

“We don’t joke around too much on the field, but we have fun. And that’s the most important thing,” Henson said.

Ferriday is slated to play Lake Placid, Fla. in its opening contest of the tournament Saturday night.