Ray E. Didier field, home of Nicholls State Colonels baseball, has suffered damages from both hurricanes Katrina and Rita.A section of the outfield fence, along with a part of the press box, the bullpen and some lights have all been affected.

“Part of the fence was knocked down, and there was some damage to the press box roof,” Head Coach Mike Durham said. “Some windscreens were messed up and some of the lights in the tower.”

With baseball being a spring sport, the damage has not disrupted the flow of working with other damaged buildings on campus like the repair work going on at Betsy Cheramie Ayo Hall has.

“The school is aware of the situation and is in the process of fixing it,” Durham said. “With the other things going on around campus, they will get to it in time.”

Durham even had some of his own players do what they could to help out.

“There was a part of the fence that was still standing, so we got some of the guys to help out and get that part back up,” he said.

Terry Dupre, director of purchasing, and Mike Davis, assistant vice president for administration, are handling the financial matters surrounding the field’s repair.

Right now the opportunity to get someone to look at the field has been hard, with all the displaced workers scattered around the South.

“It will be a task to find vendors to do the work,” Dupre said.

Davis also said that it’s not just as simple as putting the wall back up and making it look good.

“Along with finding the vendors, we have to see what we can salvage and try to fix that. Then we have to find the right metal for the fences and get that painted to look like the old wall,” he said. “When it comes down to it, the process can be very tedious.”

There still isn’t a timetable as to when the field will be completely fixed or how much it will cost.

With a few months left until baseball season starts, the team still practices at the field and plans to host a baseball tournament there.

“We haven’t been disrupted at all,” Durham said. “We are still practicing, and (they are) damages that we can work around.”

Davis said, “It does make it a little easier since baseball is in the spring, but the field is used year-round, and we want to get it workable as soon as possible.