Baseball: Robichaux dream

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, May 31, 2013

BATON ROUGE — In his briefcase, UL baseball coach Tony Robichaux carries a photo from UL’s appearance at the 2000 College World Series in Omaha.

His two sons, Austin and Justin, are visible in the stands, and so is Tony, standing with his Ragin’ Cajun team for the Star Spangled Banner.

The picture is motivation, a constant reminder.

“Both of them are kind of looking out at the field,” Tony Robichaux said. “That’s been a dream of mine, to try to see if I could get one of them there (to the CWS) – and not just be in the bleachers.”

Justin’s four-year career as a pitcher and first baseman at UL from 2007-10 ended with two NCAA Regional appearances but no visits to Omaha.

Now it’s Austin’s turn to try to help his father live the vision.

The sophomore right-hander, his club’s No. 1 starter, is scheduled to throw Saturday for the Cajuns in the four-team NCAA Baton Rouge Regional that gets under way today with LSU playing Jackson State and UL facing Sam Houston State.

For Austin Robichaux, it’s the realization of what he always wanted to do when taking work road trips with his father.

Back in 2000, when UL was a Regional host, Austin was along for the ride, first flying with the team to South Carolina for their upset Super Regional win over the Gamecocks, then making his way to Omaha to be there with his family and the team.

“Anytime them two (Austin and Justin) had a chance to ride the bus,” Tony Robichaux said, “they were on the bus.”

“I got to make the (CWS) trip. That was definitely something else,” said Austin Robichaux, who was around 6 years old at the time. “Being there as a kid, you’re wanting to get back there is a player. Seeing it, you want a piece of the action.”

Flip forward a few postseasons and Austin vividly recalls another taste of the playoffs with the Cajuns in 2007, when they went to College Station, Texas, for a Regional hosted by Texas A&M.

He was old enough by then to do more than just ride and watch.

“I got to go on the field and shag for b.p. (batting practice),” Robichaux said. “Stuff like that – not many kids get to go through that. That was one of my big memories.”

And now he’s the one with a chance to make his own way to Omaha – a road that starts with having to get through LSU, the nation’s No. 4 seed.

“Going on the bus with the players and my dad to now being on the bus with a jersey on – it’s a whole different story,” Robichaux said.

Tony Robichaux is simply happy he can have a hand in it.

“From the trips that (Austin) has been on when he was small, now to what this trip is, is totally different,” he said.

Tony Robichaux seems to sense his all-Sun Belt Conference son faces an uphill battle on the mound if UL and LSU both win today.

If that’s the case, Austin Robichaux (8-2, 3.20 ERA) will wind up matched against undefeated Tigers starter Aaron Nola (10-0, 1.94).

“This trip is to gain experience. He’s going to grow from it, we’re going to grow from it,” the Cajun coach said. “We’re going into probably one of the toughest venues there is once you get to that game (vs. LSU), so, because of that, you can do nothing but get better.

“I’ve always said this: When you take on a professional challenge you can’t fail, because even if you don’t do good you got better. … If you don’t take professional challenges on, it’s just too safe of a world. You might not fail, but you’re never gonna get any better.”

And all Tony Robichaux wants most is for his son, in this case Austin, to continue to improve and help his club do the same.

In that regard, he’s no different than any Cajun father. Knowing that one of his own will among those walking off the bus today in Baton Rouge, however, makes things only tougher in Robichaux’s unique role as coach of his own kid.

“It makes the stomach churn way more, believe me,” he said. “You’ve got to really balance it.

“When they do good you want to make sure you’re handling it just like everybody else is; when they do bad, you want to try handle it like everybody else. (But) it’s never an easy thing.

“When you sit in that dugout you just try to block it out,” Tony Robichaux added, “and try to treat it as, ‘Hey, he’s got a job to do, and that’s to give our team a chance to win today,’ and stay stuck on that until the game is over.”

Until the game is over, that is, and everyone gets back on the bus.