ROUX: Prep players big part of UL's rebuilding

<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. -- How can a Division I mid-major program sustain prominence and make frequent returns to the NCAA College World Series?

After getting his team there for the first time five seasons ago, University of Louisiana at Lafayette baseball coach Tony Robichaux said he's found the answer.

Robichaux's road map for a return to Omaha now includes rebuilding primarily with high school signees rather than junior college recruits.

If that's the plan, it seems to be working.

Robichaux's Cajuns (47-17) are the Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions and back in the NCAA regionals for the first time since 2002.

UL is scheduled to play Alabama at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Tulane's Turchin Stadium in a regional tournament that also includes Southern and the host Green Wave.

Since the World Series appearance in 2000, Robichaux said subsequent UL teams have been judged by that standard.

"Once you make it to Omaha as a mid-major, the harder it is to get back," Robichaux said. "Getting to Omaha isn't always going to be that difficult, but sustaining that level is. It's taken us awhile to do it, but it always takes more time to recover from something like that when you compete at our level."

Before this season's championship, the Cajuns finished ninth in the SBC (2001), and second the following season when they lost in a regional championship game to LSU.

After that UL managed third- and fourth-place SBC finishes with no NCAA postseason appearance.

Robichaux said the past four seasons have been spent adjusting to making another run at the CWS.

"One thing that happened after we made it in 2000 was we lost seven kids to the draft," he said. "These were not just great players; these were men. Losing so many players with as much sweat equity as they put into this program made it hard to stay successful."

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By BOBBY ARDOIN
Special to The Advocate <!--

A couple of years later the Cajuns also lost top assistant Wade Simoneaux, who is now the Louisiana Tech baseball coach.

If there was one mistake Robichaux said ULL probably made after 2000, it was signing too many junior college players.

"I guess maybe we panicked a little by signing guys who were here maybe only one year," Robichaux said. "When they are gone, they don't leave anything. Now we've decided to go back and sign more four-year kids, keep them in our program longer and get them back to the level of play that we had when we got to the World Series."

That blueprint is what has made this year's team so successful, said Robichaux. ULL has 16 seniors, many that have been in the Cajuns' program for four or five years.

"We set out this season to bring a championship trophy back to this university and we were able to do that," Robichaux said. "Also we wanted to win a tournament championship, but we didn't do that. Now we've accomplished another goal, getting into the postseason."

UL-Lafayette won two SBC tournament games before falling, 7-5, to Middle Tennessee in the semifinals.

Robichaux said ULL has to play a lot better to navigate through the postseason.

"I told the kids (after Tuesday's practice) that this weekend big players have to play big and skilled players have to play skilled," he said.

"Three of the teams in this regional have already been to Omaha and there will be crowds of 3,000 or more at Tulane compared to the 200 we saw in Miami at the conference tournament."

Robichaux said his team's late-inning relief pitching needs to keep producing as it has.

"That was one question I had at the start of the season, how well could we pitch in the seven, eighth and ninth innings," he said.

Closer Kraig Schambough, a senior, is 4-1 with a 2.96 earned run average. Other relievers include Thad Montgomery (2-2, 2.91), left-handed Brandt Sanders and Hunter Moody and right-hander Ian Pecoraro (1.20 ERA).

Robichaux said his seniors need to perform to their capabilities.

"Last week we brought 16 seniors to a conference tournament and the only one who made the all-tournament team was a freshman (designated hitter Jonathan Lucroy)," Robichaux said.

One of the seniors Robichaux will count upon early is right-hander Kevin Ardoin. Robichaux said Ardoin (10-4) is scheduled to start against Alabama on Friday.

Meanwhile, Robichaux also pulled a classic from ULL's archives.

"Yes, we've watched the highlight film of the Omaha team," he said. "I've shown it to this team and I show it to every player we recruit."
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Keep up the good job Coach Robe & staff we are behind you guys all the way. Go Cajuns.