After having record-setting success in the regular season, the Lions baseball team helmed by Jay Artigues played only three games in the 2010 Southland Conference (SLC) Tournament before calling it a year.
The McNeese State Cowboys inched ahead by one run in games one and three and ousted the Lions.
The Lamar University Cardinals from Beaumont, Texas, eliminated the Cowboys on the same day and continued on to win the SLC Tournament.
Southeastern swept McNeese State during the regular season and went 1-2 against Lamar in the beginning of April.
The Lions may have fallen short of their expectations for the postseason, but Artigues' reputation has not faltered.
"He's successful everywhere he's been, and everywhere he goes, he's going to be successful," said senior pitcher Chris Franklin. "He really focuses on getting guys with very high character. He doesn't budge about doing the little things, right. He sticks to what he says he's going to do, and that's something that's really important."
Franklin headed to Eugene, Ore., on Sunday to start the Class A short season with the Eugene Emeralds after being drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 12th round.
"He's one of those coaches that makes the game fun, but at the same time he knows whenever you get on the field it's business," said Franklin.
Two weeks after the SLC Tournament, the dust has settled. Head coach Jay Artigues took a moment from his desk to discussed variety of topics, ranging from the competitiveness of the Southland Conference to the future of the team to how he spends his offseason time.
The Lion's Roar: Hate to ask it right off the bat, but what happened near the end of the season, getting swept by Northwestern State?
Jay Artigues: It came down to that last weekend, and we just didn't play our best baseball. It really hurt having Jordan Hymel out injured, one of our starting pitchers.
Thirty-nine wins marked a school record, and you went 40-19 for good measure. Are you proud of the guys and of this season?
What a heck of an accomplishment these guys did this year! I don't think people realize the year that they had. Going 40-19 is unheard of in the Southland Conference. Obviously it's never been done at Southeastern in the history of baseball, and there's a reason why. I mean it's a heck of a feat when you look at the schedule that we play year in, year out, when you see a team win 40 games, that's not something you see very often.
Six Lions—Chris Franklin, Justin Boudreaux, Jeff Harkensee, Cass Hargis, Josh Cryer and Cody Gougler—were named to the All-SLC Team. Who was left out in your opinion?
I don't know if anybody was left out. I think our team was very well represented. We had a great group of guys. When you look at the Southland Conference, as many talented players as they have, anytime you get six guys on it says a lot about the team and says a lot about those players we have.
Would you like to comment about the strong academic performance of the team?
We had five players on our team with a 4.0 GPA. Over 70 percent of our roster has a 3.0 or higher, and that says a lot about these kids, you know, we're having a cumulative GPA of a 3.0. With the grind they have of playing five nights a week and then practicing everyday of the week and then still keeping their grades the way they do speaks volumes about these guys.
You've been in the Southland Conference since 2006. From an insider, what's it like playing in the Southland Conference? How do you feel about it?
Baseball is without question the strongest sport in this conference. It's one of the tougher leagues in the country in Division I, and I don't think people realize the strength of this conference baseball-wise. There's so much parody from top to bottom. I mean 12 teams, and honestly all 12 teams have a legitimate shot to compete for a championship year in and year out, and that's what makes this so tough. You can't have an off weekend because if you do, you you're going to get beat. These teams are really solid week in and week out.
What do you think about McNeese State in particular?
McNeese, just like all of them have a quality club. You have to play your best baseball to beat them. We were fortunate. We had a lot of success against McNeese, and then they got us in the tournament. They're a talented club just like everybody else.
It seems like your career's success is constantly on a rise. Is it a conscious effort for you to be more awesome today than yesterday?
I think that's anybody in any profession. You want to be better everyday, and every year you want to get a little bit better at what you do as a profession. I think it's important to grow every year, and you start talking about baseball and athletics in general, I think every year you've got to try to improve your team and your program. If you're doing that then you're obviously headed in the right direction. So far in five years here, every year we've gotten a little bit better. This year with the 40 wins was an unbelievable year for these guys, but hopefully next year we repeat with the win number and bring a championship back home as well.
Where were you born, Coach?
I'm from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
When did you first begin getting into baseball?
I grew up like most kids playing baseball from the age of six years old, and when I graduated I stayed in the game. I stayed in coaching so I could stay around it and really enjoy it.
So, you've developed kind of a love for the game?
Oh absolutely! And to do this as a profession you got to love it because of the hours you put in. It's a grind, no question about it. It's very demanding, so if you don't love it you're not going to be very successful. It's got to be something you love.
What positions did you play growing up?
I played middle infield all my life, shortstop, second base.
How long have you been doing the baseball summer camp? What's the best thing about it?
Every year we've coached we've had summer camp here. We get a great turnout for our camps, and number one, you can use it for recruiting for your baseball program. Secondly, and maybe more importantly, you can recruit for the university in whole. When we're getting a hundred kids at camp obviously all those kids want to go play baseball somewhere, but maybe if they see our campus and really enjoy the atmosphere here at Southeastern, it'll entice them to come to school here.
Are most of the students at camp coming in from this region?
At our last camp we had kids from six different states! I mean, we had kids from Missouri fly in for the camp. So we're getting kids from all over, and that is a credit to the camp that our coaches run. Coach (Justin) Cryer is our camp coordinator, and Coach (Matt) Riser and Coach (Justin) Hill do a great job with it. We get a lot of repeat campers, which means maybe they like what they've been seeing and they're coming back.
If you could coach any other team sport or any sport, what would it be?
Strictly baseball. I mean, I coached in high school. I coached football, basketball and baseball and enjoyed coaching all three, and all three have different challenges. But baseball is my love.
What are some of your hobbies outside of the game?
I spend a lot of time with my kids. I've got two boys, 10 and 8, and I spend time with my two kids and my wife. Just being involved with them, trying to go to as many functions as I can with them. We like to hunt together and do some things together.
What's a typical day like during the offseason?
[laughs] The offseason! We're pretty much at the office either working camps or recruiting, and if we're not doing that I'm chasing my two kids around some ballpark somewhere around Louisiana.
Is there anything else you would like to say about the season or about next year?
Just that I was really honored and proud to be able to coach this team. Going 40-19, it was great to be a part of that ride. We lose one starter off this club so next year it looks very optimistic. It's going to be a new year and a new challenge, and hopefully the guys can rise to that challenge.