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March 15, 2017
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March 15, 2017
It took an extra inning, but the Nicholls State University baseball team is officially off to a good start in Southland Conference play.
The Colonels took two of three at Northwestern State this past weekend, surrendering Friday night’s game before battling back for victories on both Saturday and Sunday to seal the series win.
The drama was in the rubber game on Sunday where the teams played into extra innings with the score tied at 4.
In the 10th, Nicholls broke the tie, scoring four runs to clinch the victory and the series.
The Colonels are now 9-6 on the season, and 2-1 in Southland play.
“We like our club,” Nicholls coach Seth Thibodeaux said earlier this season. “We play hard, and we play with a lot of passion and a lot of fire. We have a lot of things that we can work on and improve, but we like this group and the energy that they bring and their commitment to doing the right things and being in position to try and do special things for themselves and this program.”
The Colonels found some offense this weekend.
Nicholls struggled to score throughout non-conference play, ranking near the bottom of the league in batting average and runs per game.
But against the Demons, the Colonels battled at the plate and made the Demons work.
In Friday’s loss, Nicholls recorded 12 hits, including four doubles. But the Colonels were victimized by a five-run fifth inning rally for Northwestern, which put the Demons in control for good.
Cole Stapler stuggled on the mound for Nicholls, surrendering eight earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched.
The powerful ace had been red-hot on the season prior to the tough outing on Friday.
Nichols other pitchers had a little better luck the rest of the weekend.
In Saturday’s game, Nicholls dominated in all phases, scoring a 9-1 victory.
Starter Cayden Hatcher was flawless, allowing just one run and four hits over six innings, throwing 83 pitches.
With Hatcher getting the Colonels back jnto the dugout, Nicholls’ bats stayed hot, recording 14 hits and scoring in in four of the nine innings of the game.
The heart of the Colonels’ order was flawless in that game. The trio of Gavin Wehby, Gage Teer and Lee Clark (the team’s 3-4-5 hitters) combined to go 6-of-13 in the win with 6 RBI.
Behind Hatcher, the Colonels’ bullpen closed the door, allowing just one run in the final three innings to seal the blowout win.
Sunday’s win wasn’t as close, but the Colonels’ bats and bullpen again sealed the deal.
Nicholls trailed 2-0 early, but battled back to tie the game with a two-run third inning rally.
Both teams scored in the fifth to make it 3-3, then the Demons took control in the sixth with a run to go on top 4-3.
But the Colonels kept battling.
In the top of the eighth, the heart of the order struck again when Clark poked a single down the left field line, which scored Wehby to tie the game.
After a scoreless ninth, the middle-order hitters struck again in the 10th.
Teer hit a 2-0 pitch deep over the left field fence for a two-run home run.
A couple batters later, Nicholls plated two more on a wild pitch, which brought the game to its final margin.
The Colonels bullpen was dynamite on Sunday, allowing just two hits over five innings of work.
Adam Tarver got the win, pitching the eighth, ninth and 10th innings for the Colonels – no-hit relief. He struck out five in his 42 pitches.
With the wins, the Colonels will head into this week with some momentum.
Nicholls faced Ole Miss in Biloxi on Tuesday night with no score available at press-time.
The Colonels take on Tulane at home tonight at 6 p.m.
The team will host a three-game conference set with Houston Baptist over the weekend.
The Huskies didn’t start conference play this past weekend, but instead lost two out of three games against the Kansas Jayhawks.
Thibodeaux said he thinks the Colonels will be ready to play regardless of opponent. He added the Colonels expect to win every game of the season.
“The name on the front of someone’s jersey won’t beat this group,” Thibodeaux said. “We will compete and we will play hard and the chips will fall wherever they may.”
SOFTBALL SWEEPS OPENING WEEKEND
The start of Southland Conference play was friendly to the Nicholls State University softball team.
The Colonels swept a weekend series with Houston Baptist over the weekend, dominating the Lady Huskies in each game to improve to 17-9 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.
Nicholls’ pitching was flawless over the weekend, allowing just two runs in the three games, limiting the Huskies to just 10 hits in the 19 innings played in the series.
Sophomore Megan Landry got two wins in the circle for the Colonels, allowing just one run in 12 innings.
Jackie Johnson was also impressive, pitching a complete-game, two-hit gem to close the series for the Colonels in a 2-1 win on Saturday afternoon.
The Colonels will play a three-game set at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches this weekend.
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