Baseball looks to previous seasons before new one

With elimination from post-season play last year still lingering, the Nicholls State University Baseball team has been looking forward to the start of a new season.

The Colonels ended their season on a four game winning streak which included a shutout over Tulane University, but a three-way tie between Nicholls, the University of New Orleans and Stephen F. Austin University prevented the Colonels from entering Southland Conference Tournament play.

“From a positive standpoint, last year had way more highs than lows with so many young players and new faces,” Head Coach Seth Thibodeaux said. “We had lost so many from the year before and so many young faces were key factors to a lot of our success.”

Thibodeaux said the team suffered a huge loss when senior infielder Kyle Reese was injured and missed 30 games.

On the other hand, Thibodeaux said this allowed sophomore Kyle Knauth to find his way into the lineup and take a position of
leadership.

Last season, freshman Ethan Valdez and sophomores Joey Morales and Gavin Wehby stepped up with Knauth to make a difference, according to Thibodeaux.

“Winning only 26 games is definitely not our goal and it’s something that hasn’t settled well with me, but when the players are disappointed too, that’s when it means something,” Thibodeaux said. “They took it to heart and had a great summer all over the country playing summer ball and when they came back, we had a great fall. Not in terms of just numbers and playing well, but chemistry-wise and learning how to play the Colonel way.”

Senior outfielder Justin Holt said that learning from the struggles of the previous season will help gear the team toward future success.

“Last year was tough and it was definitely a learning year for everybody here. This year, we want to apply what we learned from last year and continue to build off of that,” Holt said. “We want to learn from mistakes that we have made and grow together as a team.”

With a mixture of new faces in the forms of junior college transfers and freshman, Thibodeaux said the senior leadership and direction from veteran players will be crucial to this season’s success.

According to Thibodeaux, having fifth-year senior Alex Tucker as well as other four-year senior starters has put the team in a good position to mesh the old players with the new.

“When you throw all these guys that have been here three, four, and even five years in with the guys that are new, they have no choice but to play the right way. The key is your senior class has to be able to show them the way right away and set a standard,”

Thibodeaux said. “It’s been a treat to watch our guys lead and I trust this team a lot because of the kinds of players that we have.”

Although the Colonels will play around 30 home games this season, Thibodeaux said one of the biggest takeaways from last season was the experience that was gained while on the road.

While the coaching staff has stressed that being dominant at home is important, Thibodeaux is eager to open the season in Houston where the Colonels will face Wake Forest University and the University of Houston from Feb. 17-18.

“We had some long trips last year but the awesome thing is how much we grew on the road. We were able to play in environments like Mississippi State and Nebraska, and I saw our team grow because of it,” Thibodeaux said.

Thibodeaux said the atmosphere for opening weekend will be full of support from a strong alumni following and the families of athletes from around the area.

“You can’t draw it up any better unless you win them all, and that makes it even better,” Thibodeaux said. “For us to open at that type of environment against that caliber of teams is a plus.”

Echoing Thibodeaux, Holt said that although winning is the expectation, he looks forward to the hard work they will put in as a team in Houston and beyond as the season unfolds.

“I expect us to play hard and give it all we got,” Holt said. “Of course we expect to win, but win or lose, if we play our hearts out and play the colonel way, then I’m okay with whatever happens.”