Even though he is the head baseball coach at Southeastern Louisiana and is determined to bring the Lions to a nationally respected baseball program, Dan Canevari will always have a special place in his heart for LSU.
Canevari spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach for the Tigers from 1991 to 2002 under coaches Skip Bertman and Smoke Laval before accepting the head coach position at Southeastern in August 2002. Last season, in Canevari’s first as Lions head coach, Southeastern went 18-35.
Canevari’s Lions are 5-6 this season as they head into this weekend’s series against No. 1 LSU (13-2), beginning today at 6:30 p.m in Alex Box Stadium, and the former Tigers assistant coach is looking forward to being back on campus.
Last season, in Canevari’s first trip back to Baton Rouge as Lions head coach, LSU dropped Southeastern 4-2.
“When you go back to a place where you’ve been for a long time, you go through a lot of different emotions,” Canevari said Thursday. “Mainly, you remember how special LSU is.”
Canevari expressed his gratitude toward LSU fans for their support they have shown for him, even as coach for the other team.
“I appreciate all the fans and how warm and friendly they are,” Canevari said. “They are the greatest fans in the world. Playing LSU at Alex Box on a weekend with nice weather, you can’t get much better than that.”
The only not so good thing, Canevari said, is having to play “the New York Yankees of college baseball.”
Canevari expressed his appreciation to LSU coach Smoke Laval for making room in the schedule for the Lions to visit Alex Box this season.
“I like to do that because I was there once when I was coaching at Monroe,” Laval said.
The Lions will send three left-handers up against LSU’s weekend rotation of Justin Meier (3-0, 1.98 ERA), Lane Mestepey (2-1, 2.95) and Nate Bumstead (2-0, 3.18).
Southeastern will pitch Chad Pendarvis (0-2, 5.02 ERA) Friday, Rodney Story (0-2, 2.57) on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Mark Weinmunson (2-0, 1.64) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“I know his club will be well-coached and be able to pitch really well,” Laval said. “He prepares his pitchers very well. They would be ready to go to battle. There wouldn’t be anything that could come up that they wouldn’t be prepared for.”
Mestepey is the only pitcher in LSU’s starting rotation that was on the team while Canevari was still pitching coach for the Tigers in 2002. During his two years under Canevari, Mestepey compiled a 22-8 record with a 3.18 ERA and earned First-Team All-SEC honors twice.
“Coach Canevari is going to have his team ready to play,” Mestepey said. “He knows what our team is made of. He’s a real good coach.”
Canevari said his heart is torn when Mestepey pitches against the Lions, meaning he wants the left-hander to pitch well, just not win the game.
When told that, Mestepey had a laugh but knows Canevari was serious.
“When you’re on the mound, it’s all business,” Mestepey said. “But when you’re not playing out there you like to see how things are going on his life. He’s a hilarious guy. When it’s time to joke around, he jokes around. But when it’s time to get serious, he works his ass off.”
NOTES: The first 2,000 fans entering the stadium tonight will receive a free 2004 team picture. The Lady Tigers basketball team will be introduced by Athletics Director Skip Bertman at the end of the fifth inning.