Published: July 02, 2009 10:42 pm      

From the brink

Henry endures tough times

PRINCETON — Most freshmen have a difficult transition from high school to college. Imagine doing what Seth Henry had to do.

A product of Tulane, much of Henry’s first semester in New Orleans was spent at Texas Tech. The reason was the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.

“The entire baseball team, they sent us to Texas Tech,” Henry said. “We went to school there, we practiced there, we did everything over there.

“I didn’t see any of my clothes or my computer until a few months later when we came back to school because they wouldn’t let anyone back in New Orleans.”

Henry dealt with the adversity, had a standout four-year baseball career at Tulane, and is now playing second base for the Princeton Rays.

Call it a dream come true.

“Definitely. I’ve always dreamed about this since I was a little kid,” Henry said. “It’s great, a great opportunity.”

Much like any athlete adjusting to the professional level, Henry has struggled early, batting .160 (4-25) in seven games through Wednesday, but he has hit a home run, driven in four runs, scored four runs, walked six times and stolen two bases.

“It’s been great,” said Henry, who homered in last Wednesday’s win over Burlington. “It is a little adjustment getting used to the wood (bats), but all the coaches, all my teammates, everybody has been real nice and a lot of help to me.”

Henry said it hasn’t been a problem getting to know his teammates, who have come together from many different locations in America and beyond.

“We’re together so much it makes it really easy to jell together and get that camaraderie together,” Henry said. “We’re out on that field for about nine hours a day so you learn to be friends really quick.”

The 5-foot-9, 178-pound Henry, a native of Thibodaux, La., grew up about an hour from New Orleans, following the Braves and Cubs on television, while patterning his game after Baltimore Orioles’ great Cal Ripken, Jr.

“I loved it, I kind of grew up down in the swamps and the bayou so I was always out in the water as a kid,” Henry said. “They have great baseball down there, I love it down there.”

A four-year letterman at Berwick High School, Henry caught on quickly at Tulane, even though his first day was spent traveling to Lubbock, along with the Green Wave women’s basketball team.

“We didn’t ever think it was going to be like it was so I packed for a couple of days,” Henry said. “The day that I moved in, they told us to leave because the hurricane was coming.

“I had all my stuff in my dorm so it was a little weird. Pretty much everybody went to another school, a lot of the schools around the country helped out a lot.”

Once calm returned to New Orleans, Henry went back to Tulane. He played 50 or more games every year, batting .290 with 10 home runs and 18 doubles as a senior. He led the ‘Wave with 57 runs scored, and also drove in 42 runs.

He was hoping to get selected in June’s amateur draft. It didn’t happen, but his dreams weren’t dashed.

“I was hoping to get drafted, but I didn’t get drafted,” said the 22-year-old Henry, who is one semester short of graduating with a degree in business management. “Then (the Rays) contacted me after it was over and called me up and asked me if I wanted a job.”

Henry hopes his strengths will fit in well in the Appalachian League.

“I was real excited,” he said. “I think my defense is probably my best asset, and I guess I can hit a little bit.”

Having played in the competitive Conference USA, Henry feels he’s prepared for this step in his life.

“The competition here, every day the pitching is a little bit better,” Henry said. “Conference USA is a good league, we have Rice and East Carolina, and all their weekend pitchers were getting drafted so that was basically like seeing minor league players every day.”

Henry is smart enough to realize that in baseball, there will be more disappointments than bright spots, but that’s not keeping him from chasing his dreams.

“It’s very frustrating, as a hitter anytime you’ve got a guy in scoring position and you don’t get it done, it’s always frustrating,” said Henry, after Princeton left 10 runners on base in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to Greeneville. “It’s a game of failures, you learn to live with it and move on to the next at-bat and the next game, whatever it takes.”

Baseball is still a game, but it’s more of a job on the professional level. Henry has learned that quick.

“It’s definitely a lot of work, anybody that thinks this is easy and we just come to the games...,” Henry said. “We’re out here at 2 o’clock every afternoon for a 7 o’clock game and we practice before the game so it’s long days, but definitely worth it. It’s a lot of work, but it’s all worth it.”

His plans for this summer in Princeton?

“I just want to keep progressing,” Henry said. “I want to get better as a player and see where it takes me.”

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com