Eligibility issue hurts Colonels in SLC Tourney

Locals get curtain call in All-Star baseball game
May 28, 2014
Shrimp Season Opens: Eyes shift to local fishery during late opening
May 28, 2014
Locals get curtain call in All-Star baseball game
May 28, 2014
Shrimp Season Opens: Eyes shift to local fishery during late opening
May 28, 2014

The start of a conference tournament is never an ideal time for a school to lose any player. When that player happens to be the Conference Pitcher of the Year, it can be downright devastating.


Such was the case for the Nicholls State baseball team last week. Despite putting together a historical run on the diamond, the Colonels’ season ended in two quick games at the Southland Conference Tournament in Conway, Ark., on the campus of Central Arkansas.

Nicholls, who entered the tournament on a five-game winning streak to secure the No. 2 seed at the tournament, lost its opening-round matchup, 4-2, to McNeese State on Wednesday and never recovered. They lost again in an elimination game the following day to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 3-2.

The Colonels’ hopes of reaching the school’s first NCAA Regional since the 1998 season were dashed in Conway almost as quickly as they began, and if anyone had been looking to point fingers, they would not have had to look far.


Just two days after the end of the regular season and two days after the team had swept McNeese in a final weekend series to earn the No. 2 seed, Nicholls ace and Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year Taylor Byrd was ruled academically ineligible and barred from participating in the tournament.

It was a huge blow for a team whose backbone all season had been pitching. Nicholls’ 2.59 staff ERA was the best in the Southland Conference, and Byrd was a big part of that, winning eight games and posting a 1.92 ERA in 14 starts.

According to Colonels coach Seth Thibodeaux, losing Byrd came as a shock to everyone on the team.


“It’s really frustrating and unfortunate,” said Thibodeaux, who was named Southland Coach of the Year the same day the league announced Byrd had won the award for Pitcher of the Year.

“It caught us all off-guard a little bit. I certainly wish I had known about it and been able to do something about it long before the last week of school, but whenever something is held from you and you’re not up to speed with everything, it’s hard to defend for sure. It’s a life-long learning experience for him and a frustrating time. It was definitely blind-siding.”

With Byrd out, the Colonels had to rely on mid-week starter Ryan Deemes in the opening round of the tournament. Deemes, who hadn’t pitched in over two weeks since a mid-week start against Alcorn State on May 6, lasted just four innings and allowed three runs and six hits in the loss.


The following day, left-hander Grant Borne fared no better, lasting 5 2/3 innings but allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits en route to the loss.

It didn’t help that the Colonels’ offense, meanwhile, sputtered against good pitching and were held to six hits in both losses. Suddenly, Nicholls had gone from flying high to being deflated in a span of just a few hours.

Still, Thibodeaux said it wasn’t fair to blame the Colonels’ play at the tournament solely on their emotional mindset after losing Byrd and that the program has been built on not making excuses.


“It could certainly be used as an excuse, but the players played hard,” he said. “We didn’t play great in that first game and it got us. We had chances to win both games and didn’t quite get it done. But not one time was (Byrd’s suspension) brought up or talked about amongst our team (as an excuse) while we were there. Whenever you want to go win a championship, you’ve got to have your best guys, and when you don’t have them it’s difficult to do.”

By law, a coach cannot discuss specific issues related to a student-athlete’s academics, but Thibodeaux said he had spoken to Byrd and that the senior had expressed remorse and regret that he was unable to retain his eligibility.

“He was very down and beat up about it,” said Thibodeaux. “He didn’t want it to be that way. It’s definitely a life-learning event, for many people. He certainly wished things could have worked out a whole lot different, but sometimes you’ve got to stay on top of things and not allow them to drag on so to speak.”


LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

As disappointing as the Colonels are about the way their season ended, Thibodeaux said those in the program remain upbeat about the future.

Nicholls this year smashed the previous record for most conference wins in school history, winning 21 Southland games and finishing 32-26 overall.


Nicholls State University senior pitcher Taylor Byrd walks off the diamond following a start two weekends ago. The start was the last of Byrd’s collegiate career as he was named academically ineligible by the NCAA just before the Southland Tourney.

NSU SPORTS INFORMATION