DOVER, Del. — Playing baseball and living in California turned out to be 100 times better than former Catholic High standout Ross Babineaux ever hoped it would be, and once his time at El Camino College were done, he planned to transfer to a four-year school out west.

Openings for outfielders proved hard to find, however, and Babineaux found a new home in a surprising location — across the country at Delaware State University.

“I was on my way back home for spring break after the spring semester, going through New Mexico, and my J.C. coach called and said they were interested,” said Babineaux, who batted .318 at El Camino last season.

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His coach had originally contacted a friend at the University of San Francisco, but the school need infielders, not outfielders. Delaware State coach J.P. Blandin, a former assistant at USF, did need an outfielder, however, and offered Babineaux a 60-percent scholarship.

Because baseball scholarships at the Division I level are limited to the value of 11.7 scholarships, coaches must divide that number up among the 25 players on the roster. That leads to scholarships covering only a portion of the value of a full scholarship for each player.

Babineaux got back in touch with Blandin the next day, and after speaking with him for about an hour, was offered a full scholarship.

“He must’ve talked to my parents (Marc and Tammy Babineaux),” said Ross. “He told them he’d pay for everything. All they’d have to pay for was an apartment.”

Going to school in California was like being on vacation every day, he said, with access to the beaches and recreation. Delaware has turned out to be more similar to Louisiana, with a lot of wide open spaces.

New Iberia and Dover, the capital city of Delaware and site of the university, had nearly identical populations of around 32,000 in the 2,000 U.S. Census.

“It kind of reminds me of New Iberia,” said Babineaux, who is currently enrolled in classes. “It’s a real quiet state. It’s not so humid as Louisiana. (The temperature will) get to the upper 80s, low 90s.”

But the main attraction was the opportunity to continue playing baseball, this time at a Division I school. Delaware State plays most of its schedule up and down the east coast, from New York to Virginia to Maryland, the Carolinas and Florida.

“I like change,” said Babineaux, a 2004 graduate of Catholic High. “I know that going from Louisiana to California was a big change, just with the climate and the beach. Going to Delaware, it reminded me of Louisiana. I think I’m going to enjoy it.”

The offseason program will start a couple of weeks after school begins on Aug. 22, he said, but Babineaux has already seen Soldier Field, the home park for the Hornets baseball team.

“It’s a little small, about 305 (feet) in right (field) and 380 in center,” he said. “The basepaths from home to first and home to third are grass. It’s a really well-kept field.”

Babineaux’s parents, who moved to Dallas following Hurricane Katrina, and his sister and grandparents have been extremely supportive of him, he said. And the work he’s put in has paid off, if not exactly the way he thought it would.

“(Playing Division I baseball) was a big goal, coming out of high school,” said Babineaux.

“Now it just seems like everything has paid off in the right way.