Colonels start bright, fade late in SCT

The light at the end of the tunnel never appeared as bright and as close as it did Thursday night for the Nicholls State baseball team.

With victories against Southland Conference Tournament host and No. 1 seed Texas State and Sam Houston State, the Colonels stood just two wins from their ultimate goal, the NCAA Tournament.

But that light faded and shrunk until next year for Nicholls, as the Colonels couldn’t withstand their early tournament success and were eliminated by Texas State, who beat the Colonels Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

The losses ended Nicholls’ season with a 28-28 record.

“We have a lot of respect from everyone and that’s what we wanted,” Colonels coach Seth Thibodeaux said. “We didn’t get what we came here to do which was try to win this tournament but we’re going to keep fighting and we will be back.”

To earn that respect, the Colonels relied on their workhorse on the mound to win their opening game, junior Seth Webster.

In what may have been his final game at the collegiate level, Webster beat Texas State with a complete game shutout.

The junior, who figures to be drafted in this week’s MLB Draft, scattered nine hits and struck out five hitters in the 109-pitch gem, which powered a 6-0 Colonels’ win.

The shutout closed his season with a 7-3 record with a 2.30 ERA in 109 innings. Those statistics are more than most expected the right-hander could do in 2011 after missing close to two full seasons with various arm and shoulder ailments.

“He wants to make sure he puts us on his back,” Thibodeaux said of his pitcher. “He’s a very good leader and a hard worker.”

Nicholls senior Chase Jaramillo added to his coach’s statement and said he didn’t think Webster had his best stuff in the shutout win. That, he believes, shows just how good his teammate truly is.

“He always has the mindset. Even when he’s not at his best he’s a competitor, he finds a way to win,” Jaramillo said.

With Webster weaving a gem on Wednesday, Nicholls moved to the semifinals 24 hours later, beating Sam Houston State 4-1 thanks to another complete game – this time from junior Patrick Shreve.

Shreve made short work of the Bearkats’ lineup, needing just 92 pitches to push through his nine innings of work.

“Pat Shreve just kept grinding it out, grinding it out and kept pounding the zone,” Thibodeaux said.

But with Webster and Shreve’s arms burnt for the remainder of the tournament, the Nicholls pitching staff couldn’t find any more magic the rest of the weekend, as the Colonels allowed 24 runs over the next two games against Texas State, which bounced the team from the tournament.

“I have to tip my hat, whenever they smell blood they go get it,” Thibodeaux said of the Bobcats. “They’re an intense bunch and they know how to win.”

Despite falling short of their goal, Thibodeaux said he’s proud of his team’s successes.

In 2010, the Colonels made it to the conference tournament for the first time since 2000.

They won one game in that tournament, before suffering consecutive losses.

This year in their return trip, they won two games and advanced to the semifinals before facing a setback.

Thibodeaux said the goal is to keep that positive momentum moving forward and to keep being in positions to play high-stakes games.

With those opportunities, the coach added he likes the toughness of his players to prevail more times than not.

“Several times we could have rolled over; we’re at someone else’s park with a really great crowd and our guys kept fighting,” Thibodeaux said. “That’s who our guys are and that’s what Nicholls’ baseball is becoming.”

Nicholls State senior Chase Jaramillo readies himself for a pitch during a game this season. Jaramillo is one of several Colonels who played their final collegiate games this past weekend at the Southland Conference Tournament. LISA NEAL