The new Evangeline League held its first spring training game between the Acadiana Cajuns and the Iberia Pelicans on Friday. The Cajuns were victorious, defeating the Pelicans 5-1.

Braylon Dore, who plays for the Acadiana Cajuns, said he was happy to see high-level baseball return to Acadian Ballpark.

“It feels good, we needed something like this,” he said.

The Cajuns brought a full team over to the Evangeline League, with many of the players being a part of the same team in Lafayette.

“We have some DI guys over here, a few NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) guys too,” said Dore. “This team is mostly made up of guys from the AABL, the adult league in Lafayette. Most of us have been playing together for a while.”

For Dore, the financial aspect of semi-pro baseball comes second to just being able to play the sport that he loves.

“It’s all about the love of the game, the money is just extra,” he said. “We’re going to come out here and play ball no matter what.”

Dore said that the quality on the Iberia Pelicans team was better than he expected, but he still felt confident in his team’s chances on Friday.

“The competition is alright, it’s a bit better than I thought it would be,” he said. “This is still an easy win for us, this is the Cajuns right here, this is our game, they’re just playing in it.”

While the Cajuns brought a full team over to the Evangeline League, the Iberia Pelicans have been busy scouting talent to form a team under the leadership of league owner Drake MacKenzie. Following a tryout session earlier in the week, the Pelicans have slowly built a team with players from many different levels of baseball experience.

Logan Vidrine, who plays catcher for the Pelicans, said that the quality in the Evangeline League is higher than he expected.

“It’s the real deal, I didn’t expect it to be so fast-paced,” he said. “It’s not high school sports, it’s baseball.”

Unlike the Cajuns, the Pelicans team is split between former college players and athletes who played at lower levels.

“It’s 50/50,” said Vidrine. “Some of the guys who didn’t play at the collegiate level still played somewhere at a high level, like the American Legion. A lot of guys didn’t, but it’s good that they’re coming out here and playing baseball.”

Vidrine said that while the Pelicans haven’t practiced as much as the Cajuns have, they are still set to be a solid baseball team when their season officially begins in the summer.

“We’re a decent squad, but a lot of us are rusty, just getting back into the game,” he said. “We have good quality baseball players. We’re going to win games, we’re going to compete at a high level. We’ll face people who are really good, but there’s no doubt that we’re going to win some games and be a quality baseball team.”

The Evangeline League is anticipating that the summer season will begin in July.