Christian Thomas, Derron Degeyter, and Evan Hebert, winning team captains.

The New Iberia Senior High baseball team hosted an intrasquad World Series tournament during its pre-season evaluation period, allowing coaches and players to prepare themselves for the upcoming season.

The team was split into Gold and Black teams and faced off in game conditions.

NISH coach Eli Llewelyn said his team was able to use their time wisely, focusing on replicating game conditions that they will face during the regular season.

“We get a two week period in the fall to really just see what our team has for the upcoming spring,” said Llewelyn.

“We are allowed to practice for 20 hours and have an opportunity to see kids in game situations and get a little bit better for a couple of weeks.

“Our goal for the World Series was to try to make sure that we put our kids in gamelike, competitive situations. We want them to be in gamelike environments so that whenever the pressure of a real game happens, we aren’t surprised or prepared for that.

“It’s an opportunity to get them ready for what they are going to be seeing this spring.”

Lewellyn said his team is shaping up to be a strong challenger this year, and will look to build on what last year’s team accomplished.

“So far I’m liking what I’m seeing,” he said. “Defensively we are playing really well, offensively we are getting a little bit better every day.

“The big question mark that I have for this team is, we lost a lot from a quality team last year so I want to see who is going to step up. Do we have some seniors who are going to be leaders?

“I really believe in this group of guys and I think that they can surprise a lot of people this year.”

Following the game, the captains of the winning team spoke about how the season is shaping up and what role each player will have.

Senior Catcher Evan Hebert said the team will rely on everyone, not just the starters.

“It goes all the way down the lineup, from starters to bench players, everyone contributes,” he said. “From the guys going get foul balls over the fence and the guys picking up bats on the field to the starting 9, they all contribute.”

Darron Degeyter said that while his team still has a few issues to work on, the signs are very positive so far.

“We have some minor improvements to start working on, but we’re looking good right now and we can only get better as a team,” he said.

Christian Thomas said his team came into the World Series looking for a strong showing, hoping to use that same aggression to their advantage when the season starts.

“We came in ready to sweep them, ready to get another win,” he said. “We came out strong and beat them down.”

The NISH baseball team will begin their season on Feb. 21, and will play in a jamboree on the 19th.