McNeese Baseball January 2017 Newsletter

McNEESE BASEBALL JANUARY NEWSLETTER

2017 Baseball Schedule DATE OPPONENT Feb. 17 Stony Brook# Feb. 18 Rhode Island# Feb. 19 Missouri State# Feb. 21 at ULM Feb. 23 at Arizona Feb. 24 at Arizona Feb. 25 at Arizona Feb. 26 at Arizona March 1 ULM March 3 Prairie View A&M March 4 Prairie View A&M March 5 Prairie View A&M March 8 LSU March 10 at Central Arkansas* March 11 at Central Arkansas* at Central Arkansas* Fans can purchase baseball season ticket packages beginning at $145 for reserved seats and $110 for general admission. The Cowboys are March 12 introducing a new package this season for those would like to sit in the brand new lower reserve section of the complex just behind home March 14 at Houston plate, which starts at $160.

March 17 Stephen F. Austin* The deadline for renewals is Friday, Feb. 17 with single game tickets available for purchase afterwards. All single game tickets will be up for sale March 18 Stephen F. Austin* excluding the Cowboys’ contest with LSU on March 8, which will go on sale two weeks before.

March 19 Stephen F. Austin* With attendance records soaring over the last three years at Joe Miller Ballpark, the McNeese baseball program offers up its most exciting March 21 at Tulane home schedule in over a decade. The Pokes will play a 28-game home schedule in 2017 highlighted by two of the biggest games of the Nicholls* season against LSU followed by UL-Lafayette on March 28. Both the Tigers and Cajuns enter each season ranked nationally and always provide March 24 the Cowboys with a tough challenge for all fans to witness at The Jeaux.

March 25 Nicholls* Making its way back to Southwest Louisiana is the annual Lake Area Classic where McNeese will host former College World Series participant March 26 Nicholls* Stony Brook as well as Rhode Island and Missouri State on Opening Weekend (Feb. 17-19). Other notable home games include a weekend UL-Lafayette series with Prairie View A&M (March 3-5) as well as mid-week games against ULM (March 1), Louisiana Tech (April 5), and Houston (May 16). March 28 March 31 at Southeastern Louisiana* In Southland Conference home contests, McNeese will start with Stephen F. Austin (March 17-19) and continue with Nicholls (March 24-26), April 1 at Southeastern Louisiana* New Orleans (April 13-15), A&M-Corpus Christi (May 5-7) and will finish out the regular season with Lamar (May 18-20).

April 2 at Southeastern Louisiana* To purchase tickets, fans can visit McNeeseSports.com to buy online or in person at the McNeese Ticket Office located in the Jack Doland April 5 Louisiana Tech Fieldhouse next to Cowboy Stadium. In addition, those interested can call 562-4MSU to order their tickets.

April 7 at Abilene Christian* April 8 at Abilene Christian* April 9 at Abilene Christian* April 11 Alcorn State April 13 New Orleans* April 14 New Orleans* With 55 games scheduled for the season, McNeese will host 28 of Just weeks away from the beginning of its season, the McNeese April 15 New Orleans* those within the friendly confines of The Jeaux, beginning with the baseball team has begun to draw praise from those across the country at Louisiana Tech revival of the storied Lake Area Classic on Feb. 17-19. The Pokes including Collegiate Baseball Newspaper who released its Fabulous 40 April 18 will play host to Missouri State, Rhode Island and Stony Brook for the NCAA Division I preseason poll presented by Big League Chew bubble April 21 at Northwestern State* tournament. gum, where the Cowboys are receiving votes.

April 22 at Northwestern State* McNeese’s first opponent will be no slouch as the Seawolves of Stony McNeese, who finished 31-25 in 2016, was just one of four Southland April 23 at Northwestern State* Brook, a 2012 College World Series participant, face off against the Conference teams to make the list as Sam Houston State was ranked at UL-Lafayette Cowboys Friday evening at 6 p.m. McNeese will then face 2016 NCAA No. 23 while Southeastern Louisiana received a No. 36 ranking. The April 26 Tournament team Rhode Island the next day and close out the weekend Pokes and Lamar each received votes in the preseason poll.

April 28 at Sam Houston State* with Missouri State.

April 29 at Sam Houston State* With the release of its 2017 schedule, the McNeese baseball staff “Since we started here, we have tried to find a way to get the Lake realized the strength of its schedule and Tuesday’s preseason poll April 30 at Sam Houston State* Area Classic back in and we were fortunate to have Stony Brook line proved more true. Twelve of the Cowboys’ 24 opponents are either up to play and then were able to fill the rest out with some quality ranked or receiving votes. McNeese will play a total of 25 games May 2 LSU-Alexandria opponents,” said Hill. “It is going to be a weekend filled with great against ranked teams or squads who received votes. The Pokes will May 5 A&M-Corpus Christi* baseball.” cross paths with two top-10 teams this season when they take on No. 2 LSU on March 8 and No. 7 Arizona Feb. 23-26.

May 6 A&M-Corpus Christi* Rhode Island was a competitor in the 2016 NCAA Baseball Tournament A&M-Corpus Christi* while Missouri State finished as the runner-up at the Fayetteville Super Other ranked opponents include No. 14 UL-Lafayette (March 28 & April May 7 Regional in 2015.

26), No. 23 Sam Houston State (April 28-30), No. 34 Tulane (March May 12 at Creighton 21), No. 35 Houston (March 14 & May 16) and No. 36 Southeastern May 13 at Creighton Louisiana (March 31-April 2).

BASEBALL/SOFTBALL May 14 at Creighton Of those receiving votes, McNeese will face Missouri State (Feb. 19), Houston MONTHLY LUNCHEON DATES Louisiana Tech (April 5 & April 18), Rhode Island (Feb. 18), Creighton May 16 (May 12-14) and Lamar (May 18-20).

May 18 Lamar* MONDAY, FEB. 13 May 19 Lamar* MONDAY, MARCH 6 May 20 Lamar* MONDAY, APRIL 10 May 24-27 SLC Tournament (Sugar Land, Texas) # -Lake Area Classic (Lake Charles) MONDAY, MAY 1 * - Southland Conference contest

LAKE AREA CLASSIC RETURNS TO JOE MILLER BALLPARK IN 2017

BASEBALL RECEIVES VOTES IN PRESEASON POLL

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McNEESE BASEBALL JANUARY NEWSLETTER

The beginning of the new year signals the countdown to baseball and softball season and both programs are ready to kick things off by announcing the date for the fourth annual Diamond Dinner set for Friday, Jan. 27 at Treasures of Marilyn in Lake Charles.

The event will begin with a social hour at 6 p.m. along with a cash bar available throughout the event and dinner served shortly after.

Those in attendance will hear from both head coaches as well as players from both teams regarding the upcoming seasons. A live auction will begin around 7 o’clock with a multitude of items up for bid.

A silent auction will be held while those in attendance will have a chance to walk away with door prizes.

McNeese’s annual diamond dinner has become a highly successful event with funds raised totaling close to $200,000 over the last three years. The proceeds directly support both teams and their student-athletes as they prepare to take the diamond and compete in their respective sports.

Reserved tables of eight people are available for $300 and will have premium seating for the event and recognition at the dinner.

General admission tickets are available for $20. To reserve a table or purchase tickets, please call the baseball office at 475-5903 or the softball office at 475-4242.

McNEESE BASEBALL JANUARY NEWSLETTER

ALUMNI GAME SET FOR JANUARY 28TH Former players, coaches and support staff from the McNeese baseball program are invited back to Lake Charles for the Cowboy Alumni game set for Saturday, Feb. 28.

The game, in conjunction with McNeese’s annual Diamond Dinner fundraiser, will feature the alumni as they face off against members of this season’s squad. First pitch at Joe Miller Ballpark is set for Noon with admission free of charge.

A jumphouse will be provided for the kids as well as food for alumni and their families following the game.

All former, players, coaches and support staff wishing to attend, please register by contacting Coach Ricklefsen at jjrickle4@gmail. com.

SOMMERS SERVES ON PRESIDENT-ELECT’S SECURITY DETAIL

Having the opportunity to protect the leader of the highest office in the entire country is an honor that former McNeese baseball student-athlete Billy Sommers has been blessed to experience.

Sommers, a native of Moss Bluff, La., was recently pictured as part of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s security detail following the November election.

Last fall, Sommers gave up his last season of eligibility as a member of the McNeese baseball team in pursuit of his dream to become a U.S. Secret Service agent. He was selected out of 75,000 initial applicants to begin the vetting process and passed all subsequent tests and interviews.

McNeese baseball head coach Justin Hill announced the dates for three winter instructional camps that take place throughout He went through 13 weeks of training in Georgia and followed up the month of January 2017 with the chance to learn from multiple major league instructors and players. with 17 weeks of training in Maryland at the United States Secret The Cowboys will host a Showcase Evaluation Camp on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 from Noon-4 p.m. at Joe Miller Ballpark. The camp is designed for the athlete looking to showcase their skills in front of the entire McNeese coaching staff.

This is a great camp for high school freshmen through junior college sophomores to showcase their talents and learn the skills needed to compete at the next level.

Service Academy. Sommers recently graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers back in May and has been in active service ever since.

Sommers, a three year letterman, finishes his collegiate career

The clinic will consist of a pro-style workout including 60’s, defensive work, batting practice, and bullpens, which will allow the with a .287 batting average in 88 games. He accounted for 71 student-athletes to display their tools and talents. hits, 11 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He drove in Cost is $120 per entry with a $20 walk-up fee.

Hill and the coaching staff will host a pair of Professional Infield sessions on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017.

The first session will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. for ages 7-13. The second session will be offered from 2 p.m. to 6 o’clock for ages 14-19. The cost of each camp session is $90 per camper.

Camp instructors include Team USA 18U infield coach and gold medal winner Brooks Badeaux as well as New York Mets Infield Coordinator Kevin Morgan.

Equipment needed for the camps are a glove, cleats, baseball pants (optional) and cash for concessions.

Those interested are able to sign up by logging on to cowboybaseballcamp.com and complete the registration form.

For more information, please contact assistant coach Nick Zaleski by phone at 337-936-6536 or email at cowboybaseballcamp@gmail.com

36 runs during his time with McNeese.

Serving in the designated hitter spot, Sommers was honored on the 2014 All-SLC second team and was selected to the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll for this work in the classroom.

Billy is the son of Bill, who played baseball at McNeese, and Belinda Sommers.