Mac Sceroler, junior pitcher, finished the game against LSU with eight base hits and eight earned runs. He ended the season with a 2.97 ERA.
Jonathan Rhodes/ The Lion's Roar
The road to Omaha ended for the Lions baseball team in their third match of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.
Despite the Lions being eliminated from the NCAA Regionals, Head Coach Matt Riser remains proud of the team’s performance, dedication and spirit.
“The negative of this loss is that it sucks,” said Riser. “That is just the reality of it. The positive part of it is I’m proud of these guys man. They fight and they fight to the end. We knew going into this year we were really excited about this club. Just knowing the leadership that we had and the seniors we had, that their mentality and make up would be a fun team to coach. It was a truly fun bunch to coach and I couldn’t be more proud of the group that we had.”
The Lions finished the season with an overall record of 37-22 and their third NCAA Regional appearance in the past four seasons. This is the second straight season that Rice has beaten the Lions and went on to play LSU in the regional finale. The Lions lost to Louisiana State University, 11-6 and Rice University, 9-5 this past weekend.
Redshirt senior outfielder Ryan Byers enjoyed his final season and how the team persevered through the regular season.
“It was a fun one, I had a blast,” said Byers. “We battled through some up and downs but we never gave up. We always kept fighting. We were down by a lot. It didn’t matter to us. We just kept playing the way that we know how to play.”
Junior infielder Taylor Schwaner who won Southland Conference Baseball Player of the Year finished the regional with three runs batted in and three home runs.
“I just tried to leave it all out there for my team,” said Schwaner. “Obviously, it wasn’t enough but it was a hell of a ride and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything else. I wish we were still playing.”
The game against LSU took a physical and mental toll on both teams after multiple rain delays pushed their game to finish as late as midnight. Despite Schwaner suffering a hamstring injury in the first game of the regional against Rice, he remained committed to his performance in the tournament.
“It’s a grind,” said Schwaner. “Postseason ball at the end of the season gets hot. You just gotta keep hydrated and at any night be ready to go. We just didn’t get the outcome we wanted.”
Riser believes that the entire team pushed through adversities this season in order to reach their goals.
“That’s the whole identity of our club,” said Riser. “After Friday I was trying to figure who do we put at third base because we only have five infielders total to fill up four spots. It makes it a little tough, but it has been this crew all year. With all of the knick-knacks, hamstrings and the bruises they have gone through it all and refused to come out. I’ll go up to them and ask them are you good for the game and they will say, ‘No, coach, but you will have to fight me to take me out of the game.’ I don’t want to get knocked down during a fight so I keep them out there and they show the grit. That is what makes up this club and what makes coaching so fun. The outcome of this game doesn’t really show who we are.”
Head Coach Matt Riser felt proud of his players and felt that the loss at regionals against LSU and Rice did not accurately represent the team.
Jonathan Rhodes/ The Lion's Roar