Baseball: Robichauxs have a great day

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • May 16, 2010

UL baseball coach Tony Robichaux got choked up when he thought about how big of a day both of his sons had on the diamond Saturday.

His oldest son, Justin, went 3-for-5 with three RBIs on Saturday night to help the Ragin’ Cajuns roll past Western Kentucky, 12-5, in a Sun Belt Conference game at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.

Earlier in the day his youngest son, Austin, pitched Notre Dame to the Class 3A state title in a 10-2 win over Brusly at J.C. Love Field in Ruston. The lanky junior struck out eight and allowed only two runs — one earned — in seven innings. Notre Dame coach Tim Robichaux is Tony’s brother.

Yes, it truly was a great day to be a Robichaux.

"The bottom line is that you’ve got to give the credit to the good Lord," Tony Robichaux said. "I’ve been blessed with two of them that have been successful. You’ve got to give Him the credit."

Coach Robichaux got particularly emotional when asked how tough it was to know he couldn’t be there to watch his youngest son enjoy such tremendous success on a grand stage.

"It’s so special to know what he did," he said. "That’s all I can say. I just thank the good Lord for giving both of them the opportunity to be successful."

Brains and brawn

Two current UL baseball players — senior second baseman Kyle Bostick and senior first baseman/designated hitter Jon Masch — received their bachelor’s degrees in general studies on Saturday in spring commencement ceremonies.

Former Ragin’ Cajuns baseball players William Long (general studies), Chance Harst (general studies) and Jefferies Tatford (civil engineering) were also honored for completing their undergraduate work.

Extra bases

With Saturday’s win, the Cajuns now lead the all-time series with WKU, 37-21. The Hilltoppers have won the past two series "» The Cajuns won Saturday for only the seventh time this season in 19 chances after getting out-hit by the opposition. WKU had 14 hits compared to 13 by UL "» Of his 21 RBI this season for Justin Robichaux, 13 have come with two outs. "» The top eight teams have been determined for the Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament, which is May 26-29 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Arkansas-Little Rock, UL Monroe and UNO are out. Florida Atlantic, the Cajuns, South Alabama, Middle Tennessee, Florida International, Arkansas State, WKU and Troy are in.