Babineaux Diagnoses Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball’s Year [VIDEO]

Anthony Babineaux played for the Ragin' Cajuns, and he's been by Tony Robichaux's side for years. He knows what Robe wants, and he knows how to get it.

Coach Bab, as the players and people close to the program call him, is Robichaux's right hand man. It's his job to have his finger squarely on the team's pulse to help provide insights and information that can create a game winning plan. A win in the midweek at home over UNO definitely helped with one of the obvious issues with the Cajuns' start to the season: road games are hard to win.

"We got to experience the road for the first time this season, and it wasn't exactly kind to us," Bab said.

After a rough trip to Houston where they dropped two of three games, the Cajuns headed back home to The Tigue to put some of the pieces back together. They were backed into a corner against UNO, but they dug themselves out of a three run hole to rally for a 7-4 comeback win. The beginning of the season is filled with potholes, and it looks like the Cajuns are already learning the bumps in the road to dodge.

Nick Lee pitched well in Sunday's 4-2 win over Rice, and Hogan Harris threw the ball effectively enough to ensure himself the start against the Privateers. He didn't go the distance, but he did enough to lock down a spot Coach Robichaux and his staff pegged him for heading into the year.

"To do what he did opening weekend and to do what he did again on Saturday in a very big venue...it pretty much solidified what we thought, that he can be our fifth starter," Babineaux said while filling in for Robichaux at his weekly presser.

Harris didn't pick up the win in his first midweek start, but callouses aren't built over night.

The pitching staff will be an interesting experiment all year long to watch. Robichaux has versatile pieces to move around and ample arms to throw in any situation. We knew that coming in. The fans just might not have expected what they've seen offensively so far.

Preseason All-American Stefan Trosclair got off to a slow start, but he moved to second base on Sunday and his bat came alive. His home run against Rice won the game, and he collected his first multi-hit performance of the year the following game on Tuesday. Last year, it took Trosclair a while to get going, but when he started rolling opposing pitchers had a nightmare to deal with.

"We've been waiting all season to see that show up, and it finally showed up," Babineaux said about Trosclair's home run against Rice. Bab just wants him to keep it up, "We need him. We need him to come on and be a mainstay for us."

Two mainstays in the lineup early on might come as a bit of a surprise to the fan base. Brenn Conrad and Joe Robbins saw time last year in a lot of different spots, but they had to earn their reps through a deep pool of talent. After wading their way through the masses and waiting their turn, they've been the two most consistent bats for the Cajuns (aside from Kyle Clement, who is out for a while with a hand injury) to start the season. Both players can play multiple positions in the field, which only assures their spot in the lineup even more.

Babineaux credited most of Robbins' and Conrad's success to age and maturity. They went from coming off the bench to starting in the lineup, and they don't appear to be giving up those spots anytime soon. Robbins' hit a home run just this Tuesday, and Conrad picked up a crucial RBI in their rally over UNO as well.

This team's heartbeat might change locations throughout the year, but right now it lies somewhere between shortstop and third base.

When Robbins and Conrad cool off, hopefully other Cajuns will step up. Izzy Edwards clearly looks like a player with a lot of upside in the outfield, and some other guys like Kennon Fontenot are yet to wake up at the plate. It's a long season, and we're only a couple weeks into the grind. Bab and Robe are patient, and they know the game of baseball likes it better when you let it come it you.

For a team that started with expectations scraping the ceiling, some would expect more of a prominent panic button to be on display. Instead, you see a calm and collected approach to change. They're not happy about the early losses last week, but they're not abandoning the ship's course by any means.

When you have a captain like Robe and a first mate like Bab, you ride out the waves and wait. More likely than not, they'll bring you safely to the shores of success. The hard part for fans is the long ride over and the choppy seas.