By Brad Welborn, Louisiana College sports information
PINEVILLE – One of the great things about baseball is the way it transcends culture. No matter where you learned the game or the way you play it, the bases are still 90 feet apart and the mound is still 60 feet, six inches from the plate.
For three guys from The Bronx, New York, they found that truth on the field, but gained so much more during their time at Louisiana College.
On May 6, Algenys “Al” Diaz, Ronnie Diaz, and Eric Encarnacion, three Wildcat baseball players, will graduate from Louisiana College. They will walk across the stage, accept their diplomas, shake the hand of President Dr. Rick Brewer, and end the day as college graduates.
While the degree is of high importance, the things that each will remember most from their time at LC will be the bond they shard with their brothers on the baseball field.
“What I love most about our team is the family atmosphere we share,” head coach Mike Byrnes said. “These three guys are brothers to the guys that they’ve been playing with, and they’re going to remember each other from now until the day they die.
“In 10 years, nobody is going to care how many home runs you hit or how many strikeouts you had. They’re going to care about the guy they roomed with, who they shared a locker with, who they warmed up with everyday, the guys they traveled with on the bus. Those are the things that you’ll never ever forget.”
The family ties were clear to the New York trio from the first day they arrived in Pineville.
“We hit it off right away with the team,” Al Diaz said, “because they treated us like family. Coach says that all the time, but it’s true. We were able to hang out off the field, if we needed anything they were there for us, just like a big family.”
“I think it’s cool that you can come down from a city like New York and play with people from different parts of the country and still click with them,” Encarnacion said. “Before anything else we’re a family. That mentality Coach Byrnes and the coaching staff put into us early really helped us along.”
What started as a simple desire to escape the frigid temperatures on New York for the warmer southern climate turned into memories and friendships that will last a lifetime, despite the differences in the way they sound.
“My first memory after getting off the plane in Alexandria was the humidity,” Diaz said. “I walked into the airport and was already sweating. But after that, I just remember everybody saying that we were the one’s with accents, but I was listening to the other players and was like, ‘What are you saying?’ especially the guys from south Louisiana.”
All three players will celebrate their graduation day, as most do, with bittersweet feelings. Excitement that four years of hard work has paid off with a degree, but sadness that the time spent with their brothers and teammates has come to an end.
“Graduation hasn’t hit me yet,” Diaz said. “I am and I’m not looking forward to it all ending. I do want to thank the coaches and all the players for treating us like family. I know it’s been hard on us since our family is not around, and we basically lived by ourselves, but the team made it easier for us, treating us like their family, taking us to their homes for holidays and things like that.”
“It’s definitely bittersweet,” Encarnacion said. “I do want to graduate and move on, but want I want to enjoy my time here while it lasts, enjoy my time with my teammates. I know it’s going to be very emotional once I leave.”
With everything that they have learned from their teammates, friends, and coaches by transplanting themselves into central Louisiana, they also have left a lasting mark on their head coach.
“This has been a great experience for me to coach these guys,” Byrnes said. “Even though they didn’t play a lot, they were here every day to work, they did everything we asked of them, and the greatest thing is, their going to graduate and leave here with a degree, and they’re all going to be successful in life. That is the number one goal.”
