NATCHEZ — Baseball season may be over, but local teams are already looking ahead to next spring.

Thanks to a weekend tournament hosted by Cathedral High School, several local prep teams will get some work in with their players and keep their skills fresh.

The Green Wave will host Natchez High, Adams County Christian School, Franklin County and Copiah Academy today through Saturday. Cathedral will play four games, Franklin County and ACCS will play three games and Copiah Academy will play two games.

“We’re trying to match things up with what everyone needs,” Cathedral baseball coach Craig Beesley said. “We want to let everyone evaluate their players, and I’m going to have some kids I’m trying to work out with pitching.”

Cathedral and NHS will kick things off with a 6:30 p.m. game today at Chester Willis Field. Franklin County and ACCS will play at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by ACCS and Cathedral at 8 p.m. Four games will be played Saturday: ACCS vs. NHS at 10:30 a.m., Cathedral vs. Franklin County at 12:30 p.m., Franklin County vs. Copiah Academy at 2:30 p.m. and Copiah Academy vs. Cathedral at 4:30 p.m.

Beesley said the tournament would be a good thing for all the schools involved, since it gives coaches an early evaluation period for players who will be returning next year.

“Every time you go on the field you want to win, but it’s more about getting kids playing time and showing what they can do,” Beesley said. “We’re going out there to try and win, but we’re also going out there to evaluate.”

It’s also helpful to have a number of local teams that are willing to participate, he added.

“That’s good, because it cuts down on travel time,” Beesley said. “Next weekend we’ll be playing at AC, and the following weekend we’ll be at Franklin County, so the short travel lets us get more games in.”

Each game will have an hour-and-45-minute time limit, and there is no charge for admission.

“We hope to have a lot of people come out and support the local teams,” Beesley said.