Vidalia — For some high school players, summer league baseball is just something to do, but for others, it’s their last chance to prove themselves.

The 2014 Dixie pre-majors and majors baseball league is just that for several Miss-Lou players who may not have received the notice they wanted during their school season.

And for the summer, 24 local players from the Miss-Lou and surrounding areas will represent Louisiana in the 2014 Dixie Majors and Pre-Majors State Tournament at the Concordia Recreational District 3 Complex Saturday.

The league allows ages 15-19 to play, even some who finished their first year of college baseball, and Miss-Lou majors and pre-majors coach Greg Naquin said players from Natchez and as far as Monterey and Jena were allowed to sign up for the Concordia area team because there are no majors teams in their respective areas.

“The league allows kids from across the water to play because there is no team in that area,” Naquin said.

Naquin allowed any age appropriate players to sign up and try out, and what he found himself with was an elite group of players.

The majors team, named after sponsor The Markets, consist of players like Vidalia High School’s William Handjis and Kyle Coley, Adam County Christian School’s Brandon Ross and Trinity Episcopal Day School’s Stewart Mallory.

Coaches are Naquin, Bruce Ross and Sessions Vestal.

The pre-majors, named after sponsor Delta Bank, consist of all-stars like Cathedral High School’s Thomas Garrity, Monterey High School’s Jake Barlow and Natchez High School’s Jarrell Morris.

Pre-majors coaches are Vestal, Naquin and Jeremy Cable.

Even though there are some familiar all-district names on both rosters, Naquin is hit with one challenge.

When do they practice?

The teams come together in the end of June, and the state tournament is July 12, which only left Naquin with two weeks to practice.

But weather conditions over the past week allowed an even limited amount of time.

“We have Fourth of July holiday and we had a lot of rain last week, so we’ve had one day with so far that everyone was able to practice,” Naquin said.

Naquin said there isn’t too much he can teach his players about the fundamentals of the game that they don’t already know, but they must make time to learn each other’s tendencies before the state tournament.

The majors and pre-majors are heading toward some stiff competition.

“These are the best kids in Louisiana they’re going up against,” Naquin said. “Some of the pitchers are throwing in the 90s (mph). They are not going to be here to play around.”

“But if we hit like I know we can, we’ll be competitive.”

Naquin said he would rely heavily on pitching on the pre-majors team with Garrity and Jena High School’s Jacob Cooper on the mound.

But the majors team is more limited in the pitchers position, and everyone will have to step up.

“Everyone is on call,” he said.

Most importantly, Naquin expects some college scouts to be at the tournament, and it’s the chance for graduated seniors like Garrity and Coley to showcase their talent on a larger scale.

“ I expect some scouts to be out here, some will bring their radar guns,” Naquin said. “I will even call some people to come out there and check them out.”

The majors and pre-majors both play at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.