College Baseball starts in about two weeks and for the Ragin Cajuns the start of the season will be emotional. The team suffered a heartbreaking loss of its coach Tony Robichaux back in July. His heart attack and eventual death on July 3rd caught the whole baseball community by surprise.
In the 8 months since his passing, a former Robichaux assistant, Matt Deggs steps in to guide the program. Deggs guides a program entering the season ranked 24th in the country. The players and coaches realize winning game number one will be important, but, it’s also important to remember the season is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.
Head Coach Matt Deggs says, “You want to win for Coach Robe. Dang right I want to win for Coach Robe. We ain’t gonna let Coach Robe down. Coach Robe built this. Coach Robe is the reason that this press conference looks like it’s in Boston and not Lafayette, Louisiana. Coach Robe is responsible for creating that has performed and played much larger than it is over the course of 25 years.”
Senior Outfielder Brennan Breaux adds, “Coach Deggs says this all the time. We’re not playing for opening night. We’re playing for June. We’re playing for the trip to Omaha. We’re not playing for game one. We’re playing for game 70. As much as the first game means to Coach Robe and to Coach Robe’s family and a lot of people in this community and this fan base, so does game 70.””
The Cajuns open the season on Feb. 14th at home vs. the SLU Lions from Hammond, LA. First pitch at the Tigue is set for 6PM!