Emile Joseph Bourgeois Sr.
May 25, 2009
Madeline Marie Cadiere Usie
May 29, 2009
Vandebilt Catholic baseball coach David Constant couldn’t have imagined that his idea for a local all-star baseball game would become a reality in just six months.
But it did, times three, on Saturday with the inaugural FNS All-Star High School Baseball Classic at Nicholls State University’s Ray E. Didier Stadium.
“For this to come together so quickly, it shows that our community is about helping to promote these kids,” Constant said. “This just puts a smile on my face because it’s been a long time coming.”
The event, which featured seniors from each high school in Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary and Assumption parishes, played each other in a round-robin format.
The purpose of the All-Star Classic was to reward the area’s top seniors and give players one last chance to showcase their talent to college baseball scouts.
Scouts from junior and community colleges in Louisiana and Mississippi were in attendance, such as Delgado, Holmes, Jones, Meridian and Copiah-Lincoln.
For organizer Stan Gravois, a Terrebonne Parish educator and host of HTV’s Friday Night Sports, the event turned out perfectly, especially since the predicted 70 percent chance of thunderstorms never materialized.
“When we started, all we wanted was a field to play on,” Gravois said. “It turned out better than we expected. We had a great crowd, good weather and good baseball games. We hope this is the steppingstone to bigger and better years.”
It was the smallest team that had the biggest success. The St. Mary-Assumption squad, with only 15 all-stars compared to 18 on the Terrebonne and Lafourche teams, won both their games, 12-11 and 8-4, respectively.
“All the players and coaches, we had a relaxing week of practice leading up to the classic,” said Morgan City head coach Richey Garrett. “They’ve been cutting up and having fun the whole week. We really enjoyed it.”
St. Mary-Assumption nearly blew a 12-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh against Terrebonne. Terrebonne scored 9 runs in the inning, including a 2-run homer by South Terrebonne’s Michael Barba and a grand slam by fellow Gator Brock Hebert.
“We knew Terrebonne would be able to hit. We thought a 10-run lead would be safe and obviously it wasn’t,” Garrett explained
“Going into the inning, the guys were still smiling, having fun,” Constant said. “Hitting is contagious and it kept rolling.”
Terrebonne defeated Lafourche 5-1 in the final game of the classic.
But winning wasn’t as important as the kids having fun, teaming with guys they have been competing against for years.
“It was a great experience, especially with this being the first time they’ve ever done All-Star games,” said Ellender pitcher and third baseman Cullen Babin. “This was like playing a pickup game in your back yard.”
Several of the participants were in their final high school game at the same place they will be playing college baseball for the next four years: Nicholls State.
“It’s depressing and it’s exciting at the same time,” said Thibodaux High pitcher Brent Bonvillain, who committed to the Colonels earlier this year.
“I won’t be playing with too many guys I was on the Thibodaux team with, but at the same time, I get to come to a new place and take my talent to the next level,” he added.
Nicholls’ head baseball coach Chip Durham got to see first-hand some of the incoming freshmen the Colonels will have next season.
Besides Barba, Babin and Bonvillain, there was Thibodaux catcher Cody Dufrene and Morgan City second baseman Ty Thomas, who decided to come to Nicholls just after the All-Star Classic.
“This is an unbelievable event to have at our facilities,” Durham said. “We’re able to watch them and talk to them and show off our university. It’s an advantage to us in recruiting, especially since we began heavily recruiting locally the last couple of years.”
For the players who have yet to receive college offers, organizers and coaches hope scouts reconsider some kids they might have overlooked before.
Every four- and two-year state institution in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama that plays baseball had been notified of the All-Star Classic. DVDs of the games will also be sent to the schools.
“There’s going to be word of mouth,” Gravois said. “Coach Zack Zulli of Central Catholic is a former scout and he spreads the word about kids from this area. Nicholls (assistant) coach (Seth) Thibodaux is the recruitment coordinator and he spreads the word too.”
While there are various multi-parish prep all-star football games in Louisiana, the All-Star Classic is the first of its kind for baseball in the state.
Constant envisions the Classic becoming an annual event involving more parishes in the future.
“As the years go by, I hope we can expand and grow into something even more special for the kids,” he said. “It would be great to get the River Parishes and teams from the New Orleans area in the coming years for a bigger tournament.”
With the first FNS All-Star Classic in the books, it was time to think about how to make next year’s event even better.
“We want to continue hosting this event. We want it to grow and make it a special event for these high school kids,” Durham said.
“I’m thinking about, even if I’m not the coach, building that fellowship with the Terrebonne players,” Constant said. “Whether that’s going bowling or having a dinner – just getting to know those guys better during the week. That’s what it’s all about.
“Everybody is asking, ‘What can we do better?'” he added. “This was already first class, so if anything gets any better it’s going to be amazing.”
Thibodaux High’s Randall Daigle knocks a grounder in the middle game of the inaugural FNS All-Star Classic on Saturday at Ray E. Didier Stadium at Nicholls State University. St. Mary-Assumption Parish All-Stars defeated Terrebonne and Lafourche 12-11 and 8-4, respectively. Terrebonne Parish All-Stars beat the Lafourche Parish All-Stars 5-1 in the finale.
