Jim Gazzolo, Special to the American Press

The late spring of 2019 seems like a lifetime ago by now.

With so much happening between then and now, it is hard to remember just what things were like back then for some. But McNeese State baseball players remember that time well.

The Cowboys got a chance to play on college baseball’s big stage, reaching the Nashville Regional after winning the Southland Conference Tournament. They didn’t stick around long.

A 6-5 loss to Indiana State was followed a day later by an even tougher 9-8, 13-inning loss at the hands of the Big Ten’s Ohio State. Two games and their time on the national stage was over almost before it started.

“That was tough,” said second baseman Nate Fisbeck. “I don’t want to say we were just happy to be there, we definitely wanted more, but it was all new to us.”

Yet those games gave the Cowboys confidence.

“They showed we could play with anybody,” Fisbeck said. “We had a chance in both those games.”

The disappointment of those two days in Nashville did fuel a fire that burns in the Cowboys two years later.

“When we got our chance we were just excited to be there,” said outfielder Clayton Rasbeary. “We were not sure what it was going to be like. It was a whole different ballgame, but we learned. We learned what it takes to win those games.”

Fifteen players on this year’s roster, 12 of them seniors, played on that team. After getting a nibble, the Cowboys want an even bigger bite.

“It made us want to go back for more,” Fisbeck said. “Losing in the Vandy regional last time, to go 0-2 in that it was a little bit disheartening. To be able to be back this year, hopefully we can change that and make a run. It’s why we came back.”

In order to get back, the Cowboys first had to return to Lake Charles. So they came back, all who could. The goal was simple: return to the NCAAs in 2020.

With an experienced team predicted to finish fifth in the SLC, the Cowboys seemed prime for a big season last spring. However, we all know what happened 17 games into the campaign, all of sports was shut down.

“That was really disappointing,” said catcher Brett Whelton. “We were really looking forward to last year. We had high hopes. To have it taken away was tough.”

For this group it was just another setback. So once again, all who could came back. The roster grew to 45 when this season’s newcomers were added.

Even in the world of the NCAA transfer portal, from which players come and go quicker than one waits in any local drive-in lane, they all came back.

There would be more than a pandemic to stand in the way of this comeback story. There were two hurricanes, a winter storm and a historic flood.

Players would have to practice on high school fields when they worked out.

There were no locker rooms, no batting cages and sometimes, for some, no place to sleep. They stayed on couches, slept on floors and in the early days after Hurricane Laura some found it hard to get food.

Instead of working out for their upcoming season, many on the team helped clean up homes in the area that were littered with debris.

Yet they all came back.

“That is what I am most proud of, not one of them left,” head coach Justin Hill said. “It’s hard to believe. They showed up every day, even came to practice early. They never made excuses.

“It is an amazing story.”

On the field the Cowboys (32-28) had to overcome more ups and downs than any club in the Southland, entering the tournament as the seventh of eight seeds after winning six of their last eight games to make the postseason.

Once in McNeese has made the most of it, winning the SLC crown in four games in as many days. Two of those were by the slimmest of margins, two by routs.

For all their work the Cowboys earned a trip back to the NCAAs and will play Texas Christian (40-17), the No. 6 national seed, Friday night at the Fort Worth Regional.

“You don’t often get a second chance,” said ace left-hander Will Dion. “We want to make the most of it.”

This time the Cowboys don’t feel they are in over their heads.

“We are far from satisfied just being there,” Rasbeary said. “With all the struggles we went though, we feel there is nothing we can’t overcome. We have been waiting a long time for this.”

Two years to be exact — a lifetime.

Nate Fisbeck slides under the tag attempt by UIW Cole Beddingfield after a passed ball during their game at Joe Miller Ballpark in Lake Charles, La., Saturday, April 10, 2021.

Rick Hickman