By Bill Martin
LSU Sports Information
Quinn Stewart never thought he could provide such power numbers, let alone lead the SEC in three offensive categories. Those who have watched him the past three years probably thought the same. But the Rowlett, Texas, native has made believers out of those skeptics including himself. After two struggling seasons, Stewart has found a new love for a game he will play beyond his college days at LSU.
JUCO Start
Stewart’s road to college baseball began at Odessa Junior College in Texas. He like his fellow Rowlett friend, Ryan Patterson, had aspirations of attracting Division I coaches. It did not take LSU long to come calling after a 2002 campaign in which he earned All-America honors with a .420 batting average, 18 homers and 74 RBI.
Meanwhile, Patterson enjoyed an All-America season of his own at Texarkana Junior College. When the season was completed, both agreed LSU was the place to continue their careers.
“I have known Ryan since I was 12 (years old) and we used to play ball together,” Stewart said. “We went to the same high school my first two years. I went to Odessa and he went to Texarkana, and the next year we ended up coming here. We couldn’t have been happier.”
The two made an immediate impact for the Tigers in 2003 en route to the school’s first College World Series appearance since 2000. Stewart made 36 starts, batting .297 with seven homers. He stepped onto the scene when LSU faced elimination against South Carolina.
The Tigers had fallen behind 6-0 to the Gamecocks in the first inning when Stewart drove a towering two-run homer over the left field wall, giving LSU fans a glimpse of what power the 6-foot-1-inch hitter could provide.
LSU claimed a 10-7 lead but was eventually eliminated when South Carolina scored four runs in the late innings and won 11-10. However, Stewart knew he had two more seasons left to build on as a member of the most talented outfield in the SEC.
So talented with the likes of Patterson, J.C. Holt and Jon Zeringue that Stewart would be forced to redshirt in 2003. Still raw and unpolished as a hitter in the premier league in the nation, Stewart admitted that the 2004 season — a year in which the Tigers would return to Omaha — would be a blessing in disguise.
“It is different game from JUCO to the SEC,” Stewart said. “The speed of the game is faster and a little more upbeat. A lot of the guys have a lot better fastballs and breaking balls. It was a tough adjustment at first, and it took me a while but it was for the better.”
In 2005, he returned to more struggles. Stewart posted a .250 batting average, 47 points lower than his numbers in 2003. He only accounted for three homers and 13 RBI and lost confidence in his swing.
“I would probably say that sitting out and then struggling last year was my biggest adversity to overcome,” he said. “You go to playing from all the time to sitting out the following year. I came back last year and struggled for the most part.”
Alaskan Adventure
The 22-year old found the cure for becoming a more fundamentally sound and confident hitter 4,500 miles away from Baton Rouge. The Alaska Baseball League is where he spent a whole summer working on his game.
Though it is not as well recognized as its East Coast counterpart, the Cape Cod League, Alaska offered Stewart the most unique experience of his life.
In the summer months, sunlight dominates most of the Alaskan days. As a member of the Fairbanks Goldpanners, he was able to take part in the 100th anniversary of the Midnight Sun Game. The contest began at 10:30 p.m. and concluded into the early hours of the morning on June 21, the day of the summer solstice.
Stewart became only the fourth player in SEC history to play in the league as his team captured the ABL championship. He also found a new love for the game and became a selective hitter.
“Summer ball really helped me,” Stewart said. “Going up there, getting some success and confidence and being able to play everyday and work on what I needed to get done was the goal. It was a good learning experience on trying to figure out what I needed to do as far as my swing ? what pitches to swing at and what pitches not to swing at.”
Elite Company
Stewart knew he would be an everyday player when he returned to LSU in 2006, and it did not take him long to show what he had learned.
In the Tigers’ first 19 non-conference games, he batted .357 with seven homers and 25 RBI. His most notable performance during that stretch was against Stetson on March 11 when he joined the a list of former LSU greats, including Brad Cresse, Eddy Furniss and Brandon Larson.
Stewart became the 10th player in school history to hit three homers in a game, and in the process batted .455 with eight RBI in the series.
What one will not find in the box scores is the clutch hitting and leadership he has provided. In at least five games this season, Stewart has accounted for game-tying or game-winning hits.
On March 5 against Houston, he helped LSU erase a 3-1 deficit in the eighth with a game-winning, two-run single. On March 19, the Tigers were one strike away from being swept at Kentucky to open SEC play until Stewart rescued LSU again.
With the tying run on base, Stewart drove a two-strike fastball the other way for a thrilling two-run homer in the ninth that salvaged Game 3 for the Tigers. His flair for the dramatic was needed in two more come-from-behind wins against top-ranked Mississippi State on March 25 and No. 8 Alabama on April 14.
“You have to have confidence in yourself and stay relaxed,” he said. “That is really all it is ? staying relaxed in pressure situations. Fortunately, I have been able to come up big. I have slowed the game down and focused. I have gone from being 0-for-2 to getting a hit in my last at-bat when the team needs it. ”
The 2006 season was supposed to be one of small-ball for LSU. But in the era of fewer homers and smaller aluminum barrels, Stewart has made that an afterthought with 12 of his 19 homers coming in SEC play against the likes of James Adkins (Tennessee), Chad Crosswhite and Mike Valentine (Mississippi State) and Andrew Albers (Kentucky).
Heading into the final four weeks of SEC play, Stewart has a chance to do something only two LSU hitters have ever accomplished — lead the nation in homers.
His 19 blasts trail James Madison’s Kellen Kulbacki by one for the national lead. Stewart is also vying to become the school’s first SEC leader in dingers since Brad Cresse launched 30 in 2000. Both Cresse and Furniss are the only other hitters to lead the nation in homes, and Stewart never thought of himself in such company.
“Honestly, no,” Stewart said of being mentioned with the two. “I’d lie if I said I did. This year, I knew I could hit for power but I never envisioned myself having the power numbers that I have had at this point in the season. It has been really amazing for myself and sort of a surreal feeling.”
Stewart might not be approaching Larson’s gaudy number of 40 homers, but the senior needs just three more shots to crack LSU’s top 10 in a single season. On the career list, he is seven homers shy of reaching Nathan Dunn’s 10th-place mark of 36.
This past weekend, Stewart became the first player since Patterson to homer in four straight games. A game later, he extended that streak to five with a dinger in the second game of a doubleheader at Ole Miss.
While his former teammate and friend begins his first full season in the minor leagues, Stewart still seeks advice from Patterson as he continues his home run barrage.
“Just seeing how he handled it last year, I talk with him about that this year ? how he deals with the pressure,” Stewart said. “We laugh and joke about the home run thing. He told me I couldn’t beat his 20.”
With one more, he will do just that with at least 13 games to go.