Redshirt junior Tyler Duplantis is getting his chance to play for the Colonels after transferring to Nicholls and sitting out last season. So far this season, Duplantis is batting .299 with 20 hits and three RBI. He took some time out before practice to speak to the Nicholls Worth.

Q: You played for ED White, then went to Loyola. How was it to come back and play in Thibodaux in the middle of your college career?

A: It was nice. I had left Nicholls after my freshmen fall semster. I had been in Thibodaux for a while at E.D. White. It was nice to get back though. I had some reasons for leaving, and when I chose to leave Loyola, Coach (Seth) Thibodeaux was my first choice. He welcomed me back with open arms. This is the type of program and the type of people I wanted to be around. It was a good fit for me.

Q:How does it feel to come and build the local program?

A: It is nice to play at home. I have a lot of family here, so to stay here in the Thibodaux community was nice. I have friends from high school here like Jacob (Rodrigue) and Phillip (Lyons). It is nice to be able to continue playing with them, as well as the rest of the guys on the team.

Q:How was the trip to California to play San Jose State?

A: It was awesome. I’ve never been there before, and I think it was a good experience for the majority of guys who haven’t been there. We got to go by the San Francisco Giants park, AT&T Park, and take a tour of the locker rooms and stuff. So it was awesome. We got to have a little down time on Thursday when we got there and do that. It was a good experience to prepare us for a regional type atmosphere with flying and getting used to the flying and things like that. We benefited from it in a lot of ways.

Q:Was it nice to come in there as an unfamiliar team and take the series?

A: We were there walking around the mall, and people were asking us if we were a baseball team. They weren’t really sure. Before you know it, we were leaving California on Sunday with three out of four wins. It was good to go there and get the job done and do what we needed to do.

Q:How do you pass the time on the road?

A: A lot of times we will have homework and stuff like that. You get your homework done on the bus and on the flights, and then you just relax. You try to relax as much as you can and keep your body ready for the games to come.

Q:What goes into establishing the hitting lineup? Is that mainly coach Thibodeaux’s decision?

A: Coach makes the lineups, and he’ll post them in batting practice. Later in the season, we are able to get more of a set lineup and whose going to be in the game every day once we see how guys are doing. For some guys, like me and Keith Cormier, we have some options. It is just a matter of getting to the field and figuring out what’s going on that day and being prepared.

Q: Who has the better gig, a hitter or a pitcher?

A: I think the hitter for sure. You are standing 60 feet away with a lethal weapon in your hands. He has to throw the ball to you. You are sitting in there with a bat. You  have the ability to do  a lot more damage with a bat, even though the odds say that you are going to fail. Whenever you get your chance, I’d like to have a bat in my hands.