Colonels challenge, but fall in SLC’s

The Nicholls State University baseball team is still searching for that elusive Southland Conference Tournament Title, which would come with a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

But in their latest effort, the Colonels fell short, yes, but certainly did themselves proud in the process.

The Colonels didn’t win the Southland Conference Tournament this past weekend, but they battled like heck throughout the week, starting as one of the lowest-seeded teams in the event before advancing all the way through to the semifinals.

The Colonels won two games in four tries, eliminating both McNeese and Southeastern from the tournament.

Nicholls’ two losses came by a combined three runs – an opening-round loss against Southeastern, then an elimination game 3-2 setback against Northwestern State, which ended the Colonels’ season.

Nicholls coach Seth Thibodeaux said he couldn’t be prouder of his team for the fight they showed throughout the final weeks of the season.

The Colonels needed a final-weekend sweep to even reach the Southland Tournament, then challenged the title during their time in Texas.

And they did so with their backs against the wall every step of the way.

The Colonels opened the tournament with a 4-2 loss against Southeastern, which sent the team into the loser’s bracket right out of the gate.

The Colonels fell behind 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning – a lead which held all the way into the top of the ninth inning when the team attempted some ninth-inning magic.

It almost worked.

The Colonels plated two runs on a two-out rally and sent the tying run to the plate in the name of Joey Morales.

Morales hit the ball hard, but it was right at the Lions’ shortstop, which ended the Colonels’ rally and sent the Colonels to the loser’s bracket with no further margin for error.

With backs against the wall, the Colonels played some of their best baseball of the season.

On Thursday morning, the Colonels crushed McNeese State and sent the Cowboys packing in a 10-4 game that actually wasn’t even as close as the final score would indicate.

The Colonels got single runs in the first, second and third innings to storm out to a 3-0 lead – a surge they’d never relinquish.

After the Cowboys plated a run in the fifth inning to cut the lead to 3-1, Nicholls delivered another flurry of runs scored in three-straight innings, plating two in the sixth, one in the seventh, then four in the eighth to take a 10-1 lead.

In the ninth inning, the Cowboys had some success, chasing two McNeese pitchers and plating three runs to send the game to its final margin.

But Thibodeaux called Jacob Bedevian out of the bullpen in relief and the regular starter was huge in relief, inducing a double play ball to the only batter he faced to secure the win.

Starting pitcher Cayden Hatcher was huge for the Colonels, going eight innings in the win.

“We were ready to go right off the bat and Cayden Hatcher set the tone for us,” Thibodeaux said. “We were able to strike first with three runs in the first three innings of the game. We had some chances later on and delivered the blow.”

The win set up a rematch between the Colonels and Lions on Friday morning and that proved to be one of the most thrilling games of the season in a 7-6 Nicholls win.

The Colonels seemed poised to lose, falling behind 6-1 to the Lions after a 4-run Southeastern rally in the top of the ninth inning.

Down to what could have been their final at-bat of the season, Nicholls rose to the occasion in a big way, sending eight hitters to the plate in a rally, which was aided by four hits and also two errors.

The big blow came off the bat of Kyle Knauth with the bases loaded. With the lead trimmed to 6-5, Knauth hit a ground ball to Southeastern’s shortstop, which looked for a minute like it could be a double play. The Lions got the out at second base, then threw the ball away, which allowed the game-deciding run to score, securing the dramatic comeback win for Nicholls.

The Colonels’ players stormed the field after the win – one of the most dramatic games of the entire tournament.

“All I know is that you can never count us out because when our backs are against the wall, that’s when we perform our best,” Thibodeaux said. “Some seniors did some big time things there late and it was a treat to see.”

The win against Southeastern was Nicholls’ last of the season.

The Colonels lost to Northwestern State later on Friday 3-2. If they’d won that game, they’d have had to beat the Demons again on Saturday to make it to the Southland Finals.

Nicholls almost pulled it off.

They led 2-1 going into the bottom of the eighth inning – in need of just six outs to secure the win.

But the Demons had an answer.

Northwestern State plated two runs in the bottom of the inning to steal the win – the majority of the damage coming off Alex Ernestine.

Nicholls had one more chance in the ninth inning to secure the win, but closer Jose Vasquez slammed the door shut, striking out the side and ending the Colonels’ season.

The Demons picked up the pieces on Saturday and on the Southland, trumping UNO in the finals.

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