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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Micah Cockrell
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Home Phone: 903-693-9589 Cockrell does it all Dan McDonald If Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun baseball squad gave a Most Valuable Player award at the two-thirds mark of the season, Micah Cockrell would probably get some votes. But if the award were for “Most Versatile Player,” there would be no doubt, especially after the Cajuns’ last two games. On Sunday, Cockrell pitched a complete-game six-hitter in only his second start of the year – and his second since his senior year in high school. That effort helped UL take a 7-3 win over Sun Belt Conference rival New Orleans and post a rare road series sweep. Then, on Wednesday night, Cockrell provided the Cajuns’ only runs with a second-inning two-run homer, enough to provide the Cajuns with a 2-1 victory over Northwestern State to give UL four straight wins and 10 wins in its last 11 outings. “It’s been a good week,” Cockrell said. The efforts haven’t been lost on Cajun coach Tony Robichaux, who has penciled in Cockrell as the Sunday starter for the Cajuns’ key Sun Belt series against Florida International. That three-game series begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Moore Field. “The reason Micah’s there is he’s a bulldog,” Robichaux said. “He’s a battler, he’s gritty. He’s going to give you everything he’s got, and he doesn’t accept anything less than a full effort.” Cockrell’s efforts last year were concentrated at shortstop and third base, where he started 52 of 57 games and hit .275 while ranking fifth on the team in home runs (six) and RBI (33). He only made one mound appearance, throwing one inning in a victory over Nicholls State, but Robichaux said prior to the 2005 season that the Carthage, Texas, product would make more of an impact on the pitching staff in his senior year. So far this year, he’s pitched in 12 games and thrown 32 innings with a 3-2 record and a 2.53 ERA. Fifteen of those innings have come within the last 10 days, with Cockrell getting his first start at Lamar on April 12 and following that with the complete game against UNO five days later. “The last time I was a starting pitcher was one game in my senior year in high school,” Cockrell said. “So I didn’t know how long I’d be able to go. In the past, I used to get stronger the more I’d throw, but I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.” In the win over UNO, he threw 72 strikes out of 119 pitches, mostly going with fast balls, and he gave up only three hits over the final seven innings after allowing a second-inning two-run homer. The other run was unearned. But more than his pitching, it was Cockrell’s defensive play that turned heads in Sunday. He turned a botched bunt attempt into a key double play in the seventh inning, bare-handed a ground ball up the middle to turn a likely hit into an out in the eighth, and had an athletic play on a slow roller to get a lead runner in the ninth. “What Micah gives us is a shortstop on the mound,” Robichaux said. “It gives us in effect a fifth infielder. He can handle balls around the mound. If we don’t have an athletic guy there Sunday, it could have been very different.” “It helps to have a background like that,” Cockrell said of his extensive experience at shortstop. “You’re used to fielding ground balls. You don’t have to stop and think about what you’re doing.” He hasn’t forgotten his everyday-player roots, though. He’ll still be at shortstop for the weekend games when he’s not pitching, and was there Wednesday when he had two hits including the eventual game-winning homer against the Demons. “He stepped up when he had the opportunity,” Robichaux said, “and that’s what we’ve got to keep doing, especially this weekend because Florida International is going to be a big test.” Originally published April 22, 2005
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