Public appeal issued in Terrebonne for elderly heat health
March 22, 2011"The Metal Children" (Baton Rouge)
March 24, 2011
After a lifetime of playing in front of her friends and family, Ashley Ray decided last summer it was time to move away from her native Lafayette.
When she finally pulled the trigger on the decision to move on, there was only place she wanted to be: Nicholls State.
One of the Southland Conference’s new best players is born.
In her first season in Thibodaux after a two-year stint at Louisiana-Lafayette, Ray said she has no regrets after leaving her hometown and a national power to become a top slugger for the upstart Colonels.
“It’s been a blast,” Ray said. “I’m having a really good time playing with all of these girls.”
Slugging and success are two of the main ingredients that landed the Lafayette native a scholarship with Louisiana-Lafayette out of high school.
At Beau Chene High School, Ray was an All-State selection from 2006-08 and was also a First Team All-District, All-Parish and All-Acadiana team member in every season of her high school career.
With that success came the scholarship offer from the Ragin Cajuns – one that she just couldn’t refuse because of her ties to the Lafayette area and the team’s prestige in the world of collegiate softball.
“I was pumped to commit there and that’s just a huge school softball-wise, so I was just very excited,” Ray said. “It was a real honor to go there, but things ended up happening and I ended up here.”
The Colonels’ third baseman didn’t elaborate on what “things” she was talking about, but playing time likely was one of the major keys.
The standout played in just 43 combined games in two seasons with the Ragin Cajuns, which forced her to reevaluate her career plans following her sophomore season.
That’s where Nicholls came into the picture – a school that wasn’t home in location, but was home in terms of familiar faces.
“She knew half my team when she got here,” Colonels coach Jenny Parsons said. “She played with Megan Gaspard in summer ball and she played with several other kids on our team.”
Ray agreed and said playing with friends was one of the major reasons she made the decision to transfer to Nicholls.
“Absolutely,” she said. “This was the only school I considered and that’s one of the major reasons why. This is where I knew I wanted to go if I had left Lafayette.”
But the Colonels also were able to offer that playing time, too. That’s something the junior has taken full advantage of through the midway point of the season, hitting for a .342 average with six home runs and 23 RBI through her first 21 games with her new school.
“She’s a good player,” Parsons said. “She’s an excellent hitter and she’s a good defensive third baseman.”
But aside from the obvious statistical success, Parsons said she believes Ray has value as a leader, something the coach credits to her time in Lafayette.
Sure, she might not have played as much as she’d have liked. But Parsons explained that just being a part of a nationally-ranked program for two seasons has a large impact on a player.
It is because of that wisdom that Parsons labels the standout as one of the team’s leaders in just her first season.
“The things that she learned at UL, she’s been bringing with her here,” Parsons said. “UL’s a Top 25 team and she understands what it takes to get to that level and that’s great for our team.”
A winning culture is something the Colonels need after graduating a slew of new players from last season’s team, a youth movement that has resulted in the team having a slow start to the season.
But with the junior’s leadership and slugging in the dugout, both player and coach agree that at some point Ray may find a new home – near the top of the Southland Conference standings.
“We got off to a little bit of a rocky start in conference, but we can only go up from here,” Ray said. “We’re working hard together and we’re sticking together and it’s starting to look good.”
Nicholls third baseman Ashley Ray prepares for a pitch during Saturday’s game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Ray has been a major force in the Colonels’ lineup since transferring from UL-Lafayette. LISA NEAL
