LSU signee Jobert shines for Delgado in midst of win streak

Perhaps many have not noticed but in the midst of the college baseball season getting underway, a prominent junior college program is off to a scintillating start, as is its star player.

Delgado made it eight consecutive victories, sweeping Lincoln Trail 11-1 and 4-3 Sunday afternoon at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium.

Now 10-1 on the season, the Dolphins are doing it with all-around performances for coach Joe Scheuermann.

“I think the word chemistry gets used way too much in sports but these kids like one another and when you like one another, you normally play well together and that’s what we are experiencing right now,” Scheuermann said. “We are finding a way to win.”

Scheuermann knows a little bit about winning, now well over 1,000 victories in 31 years as the head coach at Delgado and with five Junior College World Series appearances as a coach, including four as the head coach.

The pitching has been solid from top to bottom, with an ERA of 3.80 after Sunday’s victories.

The hitting has been superb.

The Dolphins came into Sunday’s games with a team batting average of .370.

That average will go up after the Dolphins banged out 19 hits in 12 innings.

Nicholls transfer Ethan Lege, Jobee Boone and Brayden Caskey have been hitting the ball consistently well, Stephen Klein, Mikey Stutes, Brennan Lambert and Josh Alexander have solid at the plate as well.

While those players have contributed in excellent fashion, the most highly visible and highly touted player has handled the attention in superb fashion.

Former Northshore High star Brayden Jobert signed with Nicholls out of high school.

Jobert did not disappoint, batting .365 with three home runs, three doubles and 11 RBI in 18 games for the Colonels a year ago.

The season was cut short by the pandemic and then Jobert’s stay in Thibodaux was cut short as he decided to transfer to Delgado.

Then, Jobert was offered a baseball scholarship to LSU, which he accepted, and he will join the Tigers in 2022.

The path Jobert has taken is a familiar one as his father, Jacques, played at Delgado as well for Joe Scheuermann before playing at Nicholls. Jacques played at Salmen before playing for Delgado in 1996 and 1997.

For that matter, The Jobert tie to the Scheuermann family runs even deeper.

Jobert’s grandfather, Butch Jobert, a Brother Martin graduate, played for New Orleans in the 1972 AAABA tournament in Johnstown, PA and the head coach of the Boosters was none other than Rags Scheuermann. The bat boy for that Boosters squad was Joe Scheuermann.

The current long-time Dolphins head coach welcomed Jobert with open arms and Jobert has rewarded Scheuermann and the Dolphins with a great start, including a monster day Sunday.

In the doubleheader Sunday, Jobert had two singles, a double, a 3-run home run, a grand slam and a stolen base and drove in eight runs. The grand slam came in walk-off fashion, ending game one.

As a result, Jobert is now batting .438 with three home runs and 24 RBI in just 11 games.

“I’ve had pretty good days in my life but that was definitely one of the better of them,” Jobert said. “I’m glad we came out with the win. I was just trying to put the barrel on the ball, just trying to get some more runs in for my team. He threw me a 2-0 fastball low and right down the middle and I just puta good swing on it.”

Jobert is glad to be playing on the junior college level for a familiar coach and excellent program.

“I was at Nicholls and I just didn’t feel like it was the place for me anymore and I came to Delgado and an unbelievable program and an amazing coach,” Jobert said. “I’m beyond blessed for the opportunity given me and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Coach Glenn (Rivero) at Northshore prepared me well for college ball. Northshore is an excellent place to go.”

Rivero has nothing but praise for his former star.

“Brayden is an incredibly hard working kid and always has been,” Rivero said. “He’s never satisfied with being good enough as he strives to get better and better every day. He was a joy to coach. He started for me for three years and it was fun to watch him grow up and to see the kind of player he has become. His work ethic is great. He is a fantastic young man. He was a good leader for us.”

Rivero knew Jobert would have success after leaving Northshore and feels he will have success in the SEC.

“I am not surprised by his performance,” Rivero said. “He will do well at LSU. He is very mature. He understands the ups and downs that go with playing baseball at any level. No one goes undefeated in baseball. It’s a huge roller coaster ride and you have to be strong mentally. The guys that do that the best are the most successful and he’s always had that ability.”

Does Jobert feel any pressure with the attention of LSU coaches and fans watching his daily progress at Delgado?

“I just go and play,” Jobert said. “I just try to have fun. I’ve got to improve every day. I just want to improve every day. I follow LSU results every day but I am focused on Delgado. We have an awesome team. We have a very tough team to beat. If we just play our game, I don’t think anybody will compete with us.”

While Delgado, despite being an outstanding program for decades, has flown below radar much of the time, the radar is pointed at Jobert on a daily basis as an LSU signee.

Like Rivero, Scheuermann believes the solid mental make-up of Jobert will help carry his ability to even bigger things.

“He’s got a target on his back,” Scheuermann said. “Everybody knows who he is and everybody’s been talking about him and everybody pitches around him and yet he’s been successful. It’s amazing some of the pitches that he’s hitting and where he’s hitting them.”

Sunday was the perfect example of what Sherman referred to.

“He goes opposite field with a 3-run homer that broke open the first game and comes right back the next at-bat and pulls one over the right-center field that probably went 480 feet into the wind to end it,” Scheuermann said.

Jobert has been prepped, well prepared to handle the perceived pressure that comes with being the recruit of one of the nation’s top programs in LSU.

“He can swing it,” Scheuermann said. “We knew he could swing it. He’s handling everything. The kids put expectations on him, I put expectations on him, the fans put expectations on him. He’s been fantastic. He’s a baseball guy from a baseball family. His dad knows the game and it shows.”

While Northshore is proud of its former Panther star, Delgado is happy to have its current star while LSU hopes Jobert is its future star. When you have days like Jobert had Sunday, that is not hard to fathom.