Baseball: A Letter written from Jace Conrad our Local Ragin; Cajun Baseball player

A Letter written from Jace Conrad our Local Ragin Cajun Baseball player after the game to his friends family and our community 

Well here goes nothing….
I would like to finally take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you to all of our friends, families, and most importantly to the amazing city of Lafayette, Louisiana.
I had the dream of playing college baseball since I was just a little kid. I had no clue where I would end up playing or if I would ever even get the chance. Fortunately, I got the amazing opportunity to be part of a brotherhood that will NEVER be broken. For 3 years, I have given this program every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears that I have, and I wouldn’t change that for the world. Ever since the day that I signed to play at UL, I had a goal to help turn this program back to the way we all know it, A winning program. I knew I could help to do that, but I knew I would need a lot of other people to help do it with. As my first year went by, I learned more than you could ever imagine, but most importantly, I learned how to put up with failure. I learned what it was like to not have success at a tougher level of baseball, and I began to learn how to deal with it. As my second year rolled around, and Coach Deggs was brought in, we as a team completely made a 360. We put in more work than some people could ever begin to imagine. As the 2013 season came along, we gave it everything we had, but still came up short. Boy, that was a very very tough loss. We were so close yet so far. We then learned from that. We learned what it was like to fail at one of the highest levels of college baseball. It made me sick to my stomach! For those of you that know me, know that I HATE losing more than anything in this world! With that being said, we then immediately began preparing for this season. The season I KNEW was going to be the Omaha season. We worked each and every day as if it was all we had ever known. We hit, fielded, played games, fought, yelled, and even cried, through this entire journey. The thing that kept us going was the fact that we stayed TOGETHER through thick and thin. There was nothing, and will never be anything that can break us apart. As the 2014 season rolled around, we were ready to make this dream become reality. We played each game throughout this season with everything we had. We never took a pitch off. We got our asses kicked a few times but we also did our share of ass kicking. Thats ultimately what we referred to ourselves as, ass kickers!
As the season went on, we found ourselves with our backs against the wall multiple times. We had to learn to overcome adversity and respond. This by itself is the BIGGEST and MOST IMPORTANT thing that any person can ever do and thats what we did. We showed the world who The University of Louisiana is and we went out fighting til the very last pitch. Yes we came up short in some peoples minds and in mine at times but at the end of the day, we gave it all we had and we wouldn’t change that for the world. Each and every one of us knows that God has a plan for us. Unfortunately, Omaha wasn’t in his plan. There’s a reason for that and I believe that with ALL of my heart.
If I could share one last thing that I learned while I was here and that I will take with me for the rest of my life, here it is…
No matter what the situation is, whether its baseball, getting a job, getting a promotion, or even as serious as cancer….you are NEVER and I mean NEVER out of the fight!! Theres always something in you that can keep fighting. It just takes the guts and courage to find that something.

With that being said, I cannot thank this amazing community, and even some people around the world for all the love and support. We owe everything to y’all. Without you guys, none of this would have been possible. We love y’all and were very happy to help put The University of Louisiana on the sports map around the world. We will continue to grow and represent this city and state with tremendous pride!
Thank you guys again!

I will FOREVER be a Ragin’ Cajun!!

Athletic Network Footnote:
Thank you Jace for writing what so many others feel and why our fans are so enduring to our wonderful 2014 Baseball team.