Many college students spend their summers either hard at work or vacationing on the coast. For nine LSU baseball players, it’s a little bit of both. Rising seniors Raph Rhymes, Mason Katz and Joey Bourgeois, rising juniors Nick Rumbelow, JaCoby Jones, Kurt McCune, Ty Ross and Joe Broussard and rising sophomore Aaron Nola will spend their summer playing in the prestigious Cape Cod League, trying to hone their skills and rebound from the abrupt end to their 2012 season. While head coach Paul Mainieri said the decision on where to send certain players is made by both the player and the coaching staff, Cape Cod is on every player’s mind. “Everyone wants to go to Cape Cod, but it’s physically impossible to get everyone there,” Mainieri said. “Some of it is also based on relationships we have around the country.” Mainieri pointed to Nola, who threw 89.2 innings this season – twice as many as he’s ever thrown. He said after laying out the maximum workload he wanted for Nola, he called the Harwich Mariners, who gladly welcomed the Baton Rouge native. Under Mainieri’s plan, Nola will only make three starts and throw no more than 75 pitches in each, then return to Baton Rouge. Nola made the most of his first start, lasting five solid innings while striking out 10 and only allowing two hits. Although summer leagues are used primarily to develop players, Mainieri said the competitive edge is not lost. “I can guarantee they want to win,” Mainieri said. “People who run the team want a good product on the field for their fans.” Mainieri said he keeps close tabs on his players throughout every summer league. If he notices some are being overworked, Mainieri holds conferences with the coaching staff of a particular team. Though only in the early stages of the league, Jones, playing alongside Nola with the Mariners, leads the way for all Tigers with a .417 batting average through three games. Ross holds a .235 average through four games while playing on the Wareham Gatemen. Rumbelow has seen action in three Gatemen games, allowing only four hits through six innings and striking out nine. Noticeably absent from any summer league play is rising junior Ryan Eades, who was named Cape Cod Pitcher of the Year last summer. He is taking the summer off from baseball, something Mainieri said Eades requested. “He was physically and mentally tired,” Mainieri said. “If he didn’t have his heart into it, it would have been counterproductive to send him.” 
 
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