Southeastern announces 1960s All-Decade Baseball Team

HAMMOND, La. – Billy Ladner and Frank Misuraca, the first All-Americans in program history, and Bob Hardy, the program’s all-time strikeout leader, highlight Southeastern Louisiana’s Baseball All-Decade Team for the 1960s, head coach Matt Riser announced Tuesday.

In addition to Hardy, the team also includes pitchers Roland Oubre, Lou Paternostro and Jack Vaughn, as well as catcher Roy Brandhurst, first baseman Lamar Labauve, second baseman Ernie Robertson, Misuraca at shortstop, third baseman Tony Alello, outfielders Bobby Cotten, Ernie Knobloch and Ladner, utility player Gerard Oubre, backup infielder Jerome Mahfouz and backup outfielder Earl Baron.

Brandhurst, Hardy, Knobloch, Labauve, Ladner and Robertson were all unanimous selections while Misuraca was a repeat selection, having been previously voted onto Southeastern’s 1950s All-Decade Team.

Coaches during the decade included the legendary Pat Kenelly (1951-1964), former letterman Tommy Bell (1965-66) – a member of Southeastern’s 1950s All-Decade Team – and former basketball/football letterman Jim Waldrop (1967-72). Kenelly and Waldrop, a former professional baseball player, are both members of the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame, as are Hardy, Labauve, Ladner and Misuraca.

Kenelly was named the Gulf State Conference Coach of the Year twice during the decade, winning the honor in 1962 and 1963 after guiding the Lions to back-to-back conference titles. The future Southeastern head football coach and athletic director earned the coaching honor five times in his diamond career while guiding the Lions to six conference championships.

With a tough act to follow, Bell guided the Lions to back-to-back conference titles in his two seasons at the helm and was also named the Gulf States Conference’s coach of the year in his initial campaign.

Players were placed on the ballot based on postseason awards, single-season and career records earned, and overall career achievements. The team was selected by a voting base consisting of former Southeastern baseball letterwinners, coaches and administrators.

All former Southeastern baseball lettermen are eligible to cast a ballot for each of the seven squads making up the All-Decade Teams. Ballots will be conducted by email. An executive committee consisting of current and former coaches, players and SIDs will oversee the creation of the final team structure.

Lettermen interested in participating are asked to contact Associate Sports Information Director Damon Sunde (damon.sunde@southeastern.edu) or baseball alum Tom Dawsey (tdawsey@southeastern.edu) in the Lion Athletics Association office to be added to the email list.

PLAYER BIOS
Bob Hardy (1959-62) – Pitcher
Unanimous All-Decade selection … quite possibly the greatest pitcher in program history … ranks in the Top-10 of six career statistical categories … Southeastern’s all-time strikeout leader (280) … finished career as the program’s all-time leader in career wins (24), holding the record for 16 years … currently ranks second in career victories and shutouts (4) … also ranks fourth in innings pitched (301.1) and complete games (18) … holds the lowest career ERA (2.12) of any pitcher in program history who logged at least 95.0 innings on the mound … surrendered an average of 6.7 base hits per 9 innings for his career … led the team in strikeouts during each of his four seasons … also led the team in ERA and innings pitched three times, and wins twice … twice posted a sub-2.00 single-season ERA, including a 1.39 ERA in 1960 which ranks as the sixth-lowest in program history … earned All-Conference honors as a sophomore after compiling a 9-1 record in 1960, setting a program record for single-season wins and innings pitched (90.1) which have both since been broken … helped lead the Lions to a Gulf States Conference championship as a senior … inducted into the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1962.

Roland Oubre (1959-62) – Pitcher
Earned All-Conference honors and helped lead the Lions to a Gulf States Conference championship as a senior … one of three Oubre brothers to play baseball at Southeastern … younger brother Gerard was also voted as a member of the All-Decade team … tied for the team lead in victories (4) as a freshman with fellow All-Decade honorees Bob Hardy and C.J. Payne … ranks 17th in career wins (17), 20th in career innings pitched (229.0), 29th in career strikeouts (143) and 56th in career ERA (3.62).

Lou Paternostro (1962-63) – Pitcher
Helped lead the Lions to a pair of Gulf States Conference championships in his two seasons … his 2.31 career ERA ranks second, behind fellow All-Decade honoree Bob Hardy, for pitchers who logged at least 95.0 innings on the mound … finished career with more strikeouts (102) than innings pitched (97.1) … career 9.43 K/9 ranks 13th in program history … one of 59 pitchers to record 100-plus strikeouts in his Southeastern career, currently ranking 55th all-time … tied the single-season record for shutouts with three in 1963 … ranks 10th all-time in single-season K/9 (10.64) with 41 strikeouts in 34.2 innings pitched (1962) … led the team in innings pitched and strikeouts in 1963.

Jack Vaughn (1965-67) – Pitcher
Earned All-Conference honors in both 1965 and 1966, helping lead the Lions to a pair of Gulf States Conference championships … first pitcher in program history to earn double-digit victories, setting a single-season record with 10 wins in 1966 … followed that up by establishing the program’s single-season records for complete games (10) and losses (10), all since broken … led the team in innings pitched and strikeouts three times, wins twice and ERA once … finished his career as the all-time leader in pitching appearances (50), holding the record for 10 years … his 2.95 career ERA ranks 10th, behind fellow All-Decade honorees Bob Hardy and Lou Paternostro, for pitchers who logged at least 95.0 innings on the mound … ranks 2nd in career complete games (19), 13th in career innings pitched (241.1), 16th in both career victories (18) and strikeouts (186), and 38th in career appearances.

Roy Brandhurst (1960-61) – Catcher
Unanimous All-Decade selection … earned All-Conference honors both seasons … finished career as the program’s career leader in batting average (.339) … led the team with a .371 batting average in 1960, tying the program’s single-season record … led the team with 31 RBIs in 1961 … walked more often than he struck out in both seasons … career .438 on-base percentage ranks 10th in program history … also ranks 14th in career batting average … signed a professional baseball contract with the Cleveland Indians organization in 1961.

Lamar Labauve (1963-66) – First Baseman
Unanimous All-Decade selection … helped lead the Lions to three Gulf States Conference championships … earned All-Conference honors as both a junior and senior … led the team in batting average, runs scored, base hits and RBIs twice each, and home runs once … finished career with the fourth-highest batting average in program history (.318) … ranks sixth all-time in career triples (8), tied with fellow All-Decade honorees Earl Baron and Billy Ladner … also ranks 15th in career slugging percentage (.534), 25th in career home runs (19), 27th in career on-base percentage (.419), 28th in career RBIs (96) and 34th in career batting average … his four triples as a freshman in 1963 rank eighth in program single-season history … inducted into the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1967.

Ernie Robertson (1961-63) – Second Baseman
Unanimous All-Decade selection … helped lead the Lions to a pair of Gulf States Conference championships … earned All-Conference honors in 1963 after leading the team in home runs (8) and RBIs (28) … also tied for the team home run lead (5) in 1961 with fellow All-Decade honoree Billy Ladner … in just three seasons, he finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in runs scored (88) and doubles (28) … also finished with the second-highest slugging percentage (.534) and second-most home runs (16), third-highest batting average (.320) and fourth-highest on-base percentage (.424) in program history … career totals currently rank 12th in slugging percentage, 20th in on-base percentage, 31st in batting average and doubles, 36th in home runs and 39th in runs scored.

Frank Misuraca (1958-61) – Shortstop
Repeat selection after also being voted onto the 1950s All-Decade squad … led the team in batting average (.348), runs scored (36) and base hits (40) as a senior, joining Billy Ladner in being named the first All-Americans in program history in 1961 … earned All-Conference honors in 1959, 1960 and 1961 … led the team in hits (39) and RBIs (21) as a freshman, producing the only home run of his career … finished his career with a .312 batting average, ranking second at the time behind Sheldon Fernandez … surpassed Fernandez to become the program’s all-time leader in hits (145), holding the record until 1976 … inducted into the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976.

Tony Alello (1960-63) – Third Baseman
Helped lead the Lions to a pair of Gulf States Conference championships, earning All-Conference honors as both a junior and senior … named the GSC Player of the Year in 1963 after leading the team with a .369 batting average and 45 base hits … batting average was the highest single-season average at the time by a player with at least 100 at bats and currently ranks as the 13th-highest in program history … tied for the team home run lead (4) in 1962 … finished career as the program’s all-time leader in triples (9) and is currently tied for second … signed a professional baseball contract with the Boston Red Sox organization in 1963.

Bobby Cotten (1965-66) – Outfielder
Helped lead the Lions to a pair of Gulf States Conference championships … earned All-Conference and GSC Player of the Year honors during debut season after setting program single-season record with a .387 batting average … also led the team in base hits (29) … walked more often than striking out in both seasons … finished career with a program-record .351 batting average and currently ranks sixth in program history.

Ernie Knobloch (1963-66) – Outfielder
Unanimous All-Decade selection … helped lead the Lions to three Gulf States Conference championships … earned All-Conference honors in 1964 after leading the team in hits (40) and setting program single-season records in both home runs (10), RBIs (40) … the first player in program history to reach the double-digit plateau in home runs … held the home run record for 13 seasons and RBI record for 15 seasons … finished career ranked second in program history with 20 home runs … career totals currently rank 17th in slugging percentage (.522) and 21st in home runs.

Billy Ladner (1960-62) – Outfielder
Unanimous All-Decade selection … joined Frank Misuraca in being named the first All-Americans in program history in 1961, tying for the team lead with five home runs … helped lead the Lions to a Gulf States Conference championship in his final season … three-time All-Conference selection … also led the team in home runs (7) in 1960 and RBIs (36), setting program single-season records for triples (4) and slugging percentage (.653) … finished career as the program’s career leader in triples (8) and slugging percentage (.550), second in runs scored (81), home runs (15), RBIs (81) and on-base percentage (.433), and fifth in batting average (.310) … walked more often than striking out over the course of his career … currently ranks sixth all-time in career triples (8), tied with fellow All-Decade honorees Earl Baron and Lamar Labauve, 10th in slugging percentage, 12th in on-base percentage, 40th in home runs, 45th in batting average, 46th in RBIs, 53rd in runs scored … the only two-sport All-American in Southeastern history, Billy Ladner was a member of the Lions 1960 and 1961 football teams that won back-to-back Gulf States Conference championships … earned All-American honors in 1961, after leading the GSC in scoring, setting then-school records for touchdowns (10) and total points (66) … inducted into the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997.

Gerard Oubre (1966-69) – Utility
Helped lead the Lions to a Gulf States Conference championship as a freshman … one of three Oubre brothers to play baseball at Southeastern … older brother Roland was also voted as a member of the All-Decade team … only player voted to the team to play his entire career in the last half of the decade … three-time All-Conference honoree … led the team in batting average (.311), hits (33) and RBIs (18) as a senior in 1969.

Jerome Mahfouz (1961-62) – Infielder
Helped lead the Lions to a Gulf States Conference championship during his final season … earned All-Conference honors after leading the team in batting average (.341), runs scored (34) and setting a program single-season record with 47 base hits, a record that stood for another 12 seasons … walked more often than striking out in both seasons … career on-base percentage (.395) ranks 60th in program history.

Earl Baron (1963-65, 1967) – Outfielder
Helped lead the Lions to a pair of Gulf States Conference championships … ranks sixth all-time in career triples (8), tied with fellow All-Decade honorees Lamar Labauve and Billy Ladner … led the team in batting average (.283), runs scored (16), hits (30), triples (6) and RBIs (15) as a senior in 1967 … triples total set the program’s single-season record, standing for 26 years … walked more often than he struck out during all four seasons in his career.

DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.

All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary method for securing tickets during the 2020-21 school year. Tickets will be available via email in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics enforces a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. The policy mirrors safety precautions required for entrance to professional and collegiate sporting venues throughout the country. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/Clear.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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1960s ALL-DECADE TEAM
P – Bob Hardy
P – Roland Oubre
P – Lou Paternostro
P – Jack Vaughn
C – Roy Brandhurst
1B – Lamar Labauve
2B – Ernie Robertson
SS – Frank Misuraca
3B – Tony Alello
OF – Bobby Cotten
OF – Ernie Knobloch
OF – Billy Ladner
UT – Gerard Oubre
IF – Jerome Mahfouz
OF – Earl Baron