SU baseball team get help with Lee-Hines repairs

It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride for Southern coach Roger Cador since Hurricane Gustav ravaged Baton Rouge in August.
Not only did the storm alter routines of every athletic team on campus, but its winds left significant damage to Lee-Hines Field. One hundred fifty five days after Gustav, the SU administration has yet to repair the fields’ first base dugout and outfield wall.
Plus, with SU having its first full preseason practice on Sunday and set to host Southeastern Louisiana in its home opener on March 4, time was starting to run out.
Not to mention, SU is scheduled to host the Southwestern Athletic Conference postseason tournament.
Lucky for Cador, he got the financial support he needed on Thursday when The Team Automotive Group, a Baton Rouge based car dealership presented him with a $3,500 check for stadium repairs.
“This was something we wanted to do for Coach Cador and his program, specifically his kids,” Ken Philibert, owner and general manager of TEAM Automotive Group said in a press release.
“Seeing the work that still needs to be done on the stadium following Hurricane Gustav five months ago, it wasn’t right that those kids who are ready to start their baseball season didn’t have the facilities in place to move forward. This was just a small way we could try to help Coach Cador’s team get ready to get back on the field and have another successful season.”
What’s the holdup?
As Cador explained it, the renovation process has been slow, but steady, and goes like this: Before anything is done, SU must first wait for insurance money. From there the university needs state approved estimates for the wall, dugout and backstop. The last step would be SU hiring a construction company within its budget.
But, with money in hand and a willing administration, Cador may be able to skip a step or two, and if nothing else will be able to fix the backstop, as it’s not covered under the universities insurance plan.
“We’re just trying to address the situation as quickly as possible and get it fixed before the season,” Cador said. “They’re (administration) doing the necessary things now to assure us it gets done, so I’m hopeful it’ll be ready to go.”
SU has played on campus since Lee-Hines opened in 1991. Cador was around then, and before when SU played its games off campus. Before Lee-Hines field, SU hadn’t played a home game on campus in 20 years.
Don’t look for that trend to continue this year.