Former Northwestern State pitcher Brian Lawrence, whose number 29 is one of two retired Demon jerseys, has signed a minor-league contract with the New York Mets and is expected to be assigned to the New Orleans Zephyrs.
In a four-year span from 2002-2005, Lawrence was one of 19 pitchers in the majors to compile at least 40 wins, 800.0 innings, 120 starts, 70 quality starts while posting an ERA of 4.50 or lower. He missed all of the 2006 season with the Washington Nationals following shoulder surgery. Lawrence provides the Mets with a veteran pitcher as insurance for the injured Orlando Hernandez.
While at Northwestern, Lawrence won Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1998 and was a first-team All-SLC selection each of his two years. Lawrence finished his Demon career with a 17-10 record and a 2.97 ERA and posted four shutouts with 179 strikeouts.
Lawrence will report to Port St. Lucie, Fla. to the Mets’ extended spring training program. From there, he is expected to be placed with the New Orleans Zephyrs, the Mets’ Triple A affiliate.
Brian Seiler, NSU Marketing/SID Intern
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
You gotta adjust
Nobody understands that basic life law better than Allen and Nikki Davis.
Allen, an All-SLC lefty for the 1998 SLC Champion Demon baseball team, is still chasing his goal of pitching in the major leagues, and he has some MLB believers.
He’s back in Reading, Pa., not riding on a railroad but hopefully on a path to Philadelphia. Davis was recently called up from Class A Clearwater to fill a spot in the Reading bullpen.
Davis had a save and a 1.74 ERA in Clearwater. Davis was last with Reading as a starter in the 2005 season and made the mid-season Eastern League All-Star Game.
That, in itself, was an incredible comeback story chock full of perseverance and an ability to adjust to fate’s twists and turns. Check the link to refresh your memory:
http://www.nsudemons.com/pages/demonDust/ddStory.asp?ID=55
The latest twist, other than him rolling up from Florida to Reading – Davis has totally altered his pitching delivery. He’s now a submariner. And it’s resurrected his already amazing career.
Check out this postcard (OK, it’s an e-mail) sent a couple of weeks ago by Allen’s wonderful wife, Nikki: “Allen came into camp this year as a sidearm throwing lefty that wanted to be a bullpen guy who specializes in getting lefties out just like Mike Myers with the Yankees. He started camp out on the AAA work-out group and was doing very well. About the second to last week of camp, he strained his lat muscle in his left side and had to take a little break. He was upset because he had been doing so good and things were getting down to the end where you either make it or you don't.
“Well, for Allen he missed 7 days of games in which he could of been competing for a job. Fortunately, he was able to pitch in a game about 5 days before camp was over. It was pretty nerve racking after seeing so many players getting released, we didn't know what was going to happen. Allen threw really good that day and the Phillies liked what they saw. They basically said they didn't know what they were getting this year with him going from a work horse starter who throws 140 to 190 innings in a year, to a sidearm lefty specialist.
“Luckily they were impressed with what he had done. They said due to the fact that he missed the last 7 days of games, other guys had already won roster spots in AA and AAA; therefore they were going to keep him down in Clearwater in extended spring training for the month of April and let him get strong and more comfortable throwing sidearm and we would just be waiting for a spot to open up. Well, the month of April was going by pretty fast and Allen's lat was feeling great and he was throwing great. Then last Tuesday the A ball team, Clearwater, had a 20-inning game and they needed bullpen help. They activated Allen on their roster and he was active with them on Wednesday and then threw three innings in a game on Thursday night.
“We didn't know what was next because they had one too many guys on the A ball team and Allen seemed to be the odd man out. However, God blessed us the next day and the Phillies released a left handed bullpen guy on the A ball roster to make room for Allen to get more comfortable facing hitters and really learn how to throw from down there. We were so happy and felt so blessed. They said they were going to keep Allen down here for a little bit and let him get more practice throwing in this new role.”
Obviously, he’s progressed well enough since that April 24 update to earn a spot in Reading. Sometimes, you just gotta adjust … and take a leap of faith, too.
To keep tabs on Allen and all the other former Demon baseballers playing pro ball, visit the “Demons in the Pros” link on this website.
Allen, an All-SLC lefty for the 1998 SLC Champion Demon baseball team, is still chasing his goal of pitching in the major leagues, and he has some MLB believers.
He’s back in Reading, Pa., not riding on a railroad but hopefully on a path to Philadelphia. Davis was recently called up from Class A Clearwater to fill a spot in the Reading bullpen.
Davis had a save and a 1.74 ERA in Clearwater. Davis was last with Reading as a starter in the 2005 season and made the mid-season Eastern League All-Star Game.
That, in itself, was an incredible comeback story chock full of perseverance and an ability to adjust to fate’s twists and turns. Check the link to refresh your memory:
http://www.nsudemons.com/pages/demonDust/ddStory.asp?ID=55
The latest twist, other than him rolling up from Florida to Reading – Davis has totally altered his pitching delivery. He’s now a submariner. And it’s resurrected his already amazing career.
Check out this postcard (OK, it’s an e-mail) sent a couple of weeks ago by Allen’s wonderful wife, Nikki: “Allen came into camp this year as a sidearm throwing lefty that wanted to be a bullpen guy who specializes in getting lefties out just like Mike Myers with the Yankees. He started camp out on the AAA work-out group and was doing very well. About the second to last week of camp, he strained his lat muscle in his left side and had to take a little break. He was upset because he had been doing so good and things were getting down to the end where you either make it or you don't.
“Well, for Allen he missed 7 days of games in which he could of been competing for a job. Fortunately, he was able to pitch in a game about 5 days before camp was over. It was pretty nerve racking after seeing so many players getting released, we didn't know what was going to happen. Allen threw really good that day and the Phillies liked what they saw. They basically said they didn't know what they were getting this year with him going from a work horse starter who throws 140 to 190 innings in a year, to a sidearm lefty specialist.
“Luckily they were impressed with what he had done. They said due to the fact that he missed the last 7 days of games, other guys had already won roster spots in AA and AAA; therefore they were going to keep him down in Clearwater in extended spring training for the month of April and let him get strong and more comfortable throwing sidearm and we would just be waiting for a spot to open up. Well, the month of April was going by pretty fast and Allen's lat was feeling great and he was throwing great. Then last Tuesday the A ball team, Clearwater, had a 20-inning game and they needed bullpen help. They activated Allen on their roster and he was active with them on Wednesday and then threw three innings in a game on Thursday night.
“We didn't know what was next because they had one too many guys on the A ball team and Allen seemed to be the odd man out. However, God blessed us the next day and the Phillies released a left handed bullpen guy on the A ball roster to make room for Allen to get more comfortable facing hitters and really learn how to throw from down there. We were so happy and felt so blessed. They said they were going to keep Allen down here for a little bit and let him get more practice throwing in this new role.”
Obviously, he’s progressed well enough since that April 24 update to earn a spot in Reading. Sometimes, you just gotta adjust … and take a leap of faith, too.
To keep tabs on Allen and all the other former Demon baseballers playing pro ball, visit the “Demons in the Pros” link on this website.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Vincent-Beck Stadium: A Story of Overcoming
A mere two years ago, the NSU Demons visited Vincent-Beck Stadium, the home of the Lamar baseball Cardinals in Beaumont. It was a nice enough stadium. The pressbox was a little outdated but still very adequate, while the outfield fence could have stood to have a little work done. The scoreboard was standard and sitting in left center field.
Then hurricane Rita blew through, destroying just about everything at Vincent-Beck. The press box was literally blown on top of the stands, the outfield wall was hammered and the bleachers were in disrepair. So Lamar set about to rebuild it, and do it in grand style.
Mission accomplished.
The new press box, which hosted the SLC baseball tournament last year, is a beauty. Two large rooms in the main press area for gameday operations plus plenty of overflow room for media, plus two very spacious and comfortable rooms for home and visiting radio. New bleachers down the lines, nice brick facade on the backstop and then the large entertainment pavilion down the left field line.
But what really seals the deal is the new scoreboard. Last year, the scoreboard was nice. A bright red, big board with all the pertinent info on it, now in right center. However, this year, the Cardinals added a video screen. That's right, a baseball team in the SLC with a video board on their scoreboard. Pretty amazing stuff. They have good video content...updated stats on both teams, pictures of the Cardinal players as they bat and various games for the audience to participate in.
Credit must be paid to the Cardinal administration for taking a horrible situation and making something great out of it. Vincent-Beck Stadium will continue to be a shining example for a great recovery from a terrible tragedy.
Then hurricane Rita blew through, destroying just about everything at Vincent-Beck. The press box was literally blown on top of the stands, the outfield wall was hammered and the bleachers were in disrepair. So Lamar set about to rebuild it, and do it in grand style.
Mission accomplished.
The new press box, which hosted the SLC baseball tournament last year, is a beauty. Two large rooms in the main press area for gameday operations plus plenty of overflow room for media, plus two very spacious and comfortable rooms for home and visiting radio. New bleachers down the lines, nice brick facade on the backstop and then the large entertainment pavilion down the left field line.
But what really seals the deal is the new scoreboard. Last year, the scoreboard was nice. A bright red, big board with all the pertinent info on it, now in right center. However, this year, the Cardinals added a video screen. That's right, a baseball team in the SLC with a video board on their scoreboard. Pretty amazing stuff. They have good video content...updated stats on both teams, pictures of the Cardinal players as they bat and various games for the audience to participate in.
Credit must be paid to the Cardinal administration for taking a horrible situation and making something great out of it. Vincent-Beck Stadium will continue to be a shining example for a great recovery from a terrible tragedy.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Overcoming adversity leads Tory Collins to contract with the Chicago Bears
Two years ago, former Northwestern State star Tory Collins was experiencing perhaps the most heartbreaking time of his life when Hurricane Katrina destroyed his New Orleans home and uprooted his family.
Working through adversity, the three-time All-Southland Conference defensive tackle held his head up high and continued, successfully, through the hardships of that event as he took the playing field day in and day out.
All of the hard work paid off as Collins was signed to a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears after impressing the team during last weekend’s rookie minicamp.
“That’s what motivates me to go out and work hard on the field and just continue with my goal to play in the NFL, and to be able to take care of my family,” Collins said. “My house was under water and my mom lost everything. I had 17 family members living with me in a two-bedroom apartment, but we made the best of it.”
Collins went undrafted two weeks ago in the draft, but after signing the contract with the Bears earlier in the week, he couldn’t hide his emotions as he made the journey back to Louisiana.
“I was getting ready to get on the plane and I just broke down and started crying,” Collins said. “God has blessed me, giving me this opportunity.”
Collins will get his second chance at impressing the organization next week when he reports for the Bears’ full squad minicamp and stepping on the field with NFL stars such as Brian Urlacher, Olin Kreutz and Ruben Brown.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
All pomped up
Other than a winning locker room, there's no place that's more fun to be than the hallways of Prather Coliseum in the minutes before graduation ceremonies begin.
The corridors are filled with people whose futures seemingly have no limits.
That sure seemed to be the case last Thursday evening at the traditional graduation reception for student-athletes and other athletic department personnel, hosted by director of athletics Greg Burke and the incomparable Julie Lessiter, our academic advisor for athletics.
These events serve as a reminder why we're really here. The games, the scores and the cheers of the crowd are great, but the bottom line is all about enriching the lives of the student-athletes and seeing them progress toward the goal of earning a college degree.
It's not easy. For student-athletes, balancing the demands of their responsibilities with their sport and their academic workload is a tremendous challenge.
There's little doubt that their experiences over the last 4-5 years have prepared them well for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
A tip of the cap goes to Lessiter, who is the best coach ever at Northwestern who doesn't have an official "win-loss" record to her credit. Look at the strong performances in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate report over the past three years, or the consistent strong representation of NSU on conference academic honor rolls, and as the student-athletes and coaches will tell you, a lot of the credit for that traces back to our gritty little Brit.
If Julie did have a W-L record, it would be impeccable.
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