Nicholls State University - La Pirogue Yearbook (Thibodaux, LA)

Page 133 text:

With the loss, Nicholls was eliminated and had to watch Livingston defeat Southeastern in the finals. On May 15, after 43 games and four months, Nicholls had ended its season with a 27-16 won-loss record. Although the season was over, the players had proved they could come back, with their elimination from the regional tournament the only time they hadn't come back. In early February, the season started badly for the Colonels as they lost 8 of their first 12 games, including the first 3. During the shaky beginning, mental and physical errors hurt the Colonels more than the play of their opponents. After the dismal showing, the players assessed their abilities against their opponents and realized the potential of winning was there. lt was up to them to make the most of their opportunities. With that in mind the Colonels began their quest for a champi- onship. Coach T. C. Calmes turned his team around as the Colonels won eight of their next ten, including seven conference wins in eight tries. As the regular season drew to a close, the Colonels began to play steadilyand solidly. Over this stretch the Big Red Machine staged many late inning dra- matics to take conference doubleheaders from Delta State and Mississippi College. Against Delta State, left fielder Carl Zornes ran into the fence, breaking it to come up with a spectacular catch to pre- serve a 4-3 win. Pinch hitter Craig Molaison knocked a seventh inning grand slam against Missis- sippi College to give the Colonels a 9-8 win. However, the Colonels saved the best for rival Southeastern Louisiana as the Lions came to Thibodaux for an April doubleheader to determine the Western Division champion. The Lions needed to sweep the doub- leheader to win. Mike Mulligan's double, triple and home run from four times at bat helped Eric Champagne get a 4-2 win in the opener. A pitching duel between Jeff Fay and Greg Renton developed in the second game, as Nicholls managed a 2-1 win. After these wins, came the title series Touching the chin, rubbing the pants and other moves are used to pass signals as both first base coach Rocko Fiuiz C225 and Livingston's Terry Saenz appear lost in thought. against Jacksonville and the NCAA play- off invitation. Through the conference race, the Colonels finished ahead of the pack with a 14-4 record. Senior outfielder Carl Zornes and jun- ior catcher Mike Mulligan were named to the All-Gulf South Conference team. Mulligan had been named as a sopho- more last year, while Zornes had been named to the All-GSC Western Division last year. Zornes was also named the most valu- able player of the 1976 Nicholls team and best defensive player. l-le made only three errors, while lead- ing the team in several batting categories, including singles and home runs. In the offensive department, the Colo- nels utilized both speed and power to go with good hitting as the team's batting average was .288. Gary McDonnell, who started the sea- son in the outfield and was moved to shortstop, led the team in hitting with a .398 average. The Metairie junior was named the most valuable offensive player, l-le also hiewf '-wllf' i ' 'W -f 2,- sf'9: 'aifii2raZf 115' P l Baseballs l'Even-Year Hex A I

Page 132 text:

.-I' J'1. JQL J J-'L O -5.40 'kt 'ni fTopJ Coach T C Calmes gestures for Steve Stro D0l0 I0 llll me Qf0l-'nfl HS the ball COYUGS 'fl OVSV WS l-lolllfleld protests the call but the umplre ruled he lefl SlW0Uldef Clllllddlel The Umplfe Calls 3lV0D0l0 dldnthave possesslon lnthe NCAA playoff game safe as the ball falls besldes the bag QBottomj Kent sequence DY Fambfough , 'A ' , v l.I1:t,ia.l lr. A ,II- l A A. V . , CF 01:2 C W 1 Q - ' LQ QQ gf Y. , 'mv Ek: Q l .1 . 9. l ., ., V 5 I lbtvl ' -'di um ' 3 l l O l AC1 . AQ O l l C? CJ l , ' ' . .- , , , 128 Baseballs Even-Year Hex

Page 134 text:

Mulligan tfcepceatfrss com. All-GSC team, Zontrrmess atlsco ecelicecetbcecil Gary McDonnell named MVP on offense while Carl Zornes named MVP on defense Cuenca Coach T. C. Calmes sits in his special chair near the edge of the dugout. Calmes, in three years, has coached two Gulf South champions and one run- ner-up. Rusty Rebowe rounds third base, slaps hands with the coach and heads for home on his home run shot against Livingston State University in the NCAA playotts. 130 Baseballs Even-Year Hex led both the team and the conference in stolen bases with 24. McDonnell also had two home runs and 20 runs batted in. Following McDonnell in batting were Carl Zornes at .343, Mike Mulligan .333, Craig Molaison .329, Lou Buuck .319 and Tim Richard at .312 Zornes led the team in home runs with six and runs batted in with 30. Mulligan had 25 Rl3l's while McDonnell, Ricky Simmons and Steve Stropolo had 20 each. Designated hitter Lou l3uuck's show of power was surprising as he finished sec- ond in home runs with five. Molaison, Mulligan, McDonnell and Rusty Rebowe had two each. Simmons and Zornes were second in stolen bases with 17 and 13 respectively. Champagne and Fay were the win- ningest pitchers with 6-4 records. Steve Jones finished with a 4-1 record, while Mike Moity and Kell North had 5-2 marks. Champagne had the most strikeouts with 62 in 76 innings while Moity had the best earned run average at 2.27. For Coach T. C. Calmes, his three years as baseball coach have meant two conference titles, a runner-up spot and a career 80-57-1 won-lost record. The two years his teams have won the Gulf South Conference title, they have also received an invitation to the NCAA playoffs. The Colonels will be losing seven sen- iors to graduation, but will return ten jun- iors, five sophomores and eight freshmen to continue the winning tradition, and hopefully break the odd-year hex. After a home run there's nothing to do but stand there, as Eric Champagne watches a Livingston runner head home for a score. Champagne finished 6-4 for NSU Fbgh