March 5, 2008

Box Score

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M's eight runs off of three long balls proved to be too much for the Colonels as the Aggies homers lifted them to a 14-3 victory over Nicholls Wednesday afternoon at Olsen Field.

Shane Minks (3-0) got the win for Texas A&M, scattering six Colonel hits over six innings of work. Minks walked one but did not strike out a single Nicholls batter.

Ryan Harding took the loss for the Colonels, falling to 0-3 on the season as he surrendered six earned runs through four innings. He struck out three batters and walked just two.

The Aggies got on the board in the first on a two-out bloop single to left center by Luke Anders that plated Brodie Greene and Blake Stouffer.

But Texas A&M added five in the fifth on two homeruns. Anders knocked a three-run shot to left field and, two batters later, Darby Brown hit a two-run homer to center field to give the Aggies a 9-0 advantage.

"We threw strikes today," said Colonel head coach Chip Durham, "but they swung the bats. They took advantage of the pitches we left hanging over the plate. We just have to build off of this, regroup after this loss today and get back to Thibodaux."

The Colonels chipped away at the Aggie lead in the sixth, adding three runs on four basehits. Brett Cook reached base on an error by the A&M third baseman and scored on an RBI double by Josh Swenson. Keith Kulbeth and Brandt Boudreaux reached base on back-to-back singles. Swenson and Kulbeth would each come around to score for Nicholls, cutting A&M's lead to 9-3.

But the Aggie bats came alive again in the seventh on a three-run jack by Dane Carter.

Nicholls got baserunners in each of the last three innings, but couldn't manufacture a run.

Lance Guidroz was the most effective pitcher of the day for the Colonels, striking out three Aggie batters through 1.2 innings and giving up just one run.

"We'll have a short work out tomorrow and head to Mississippi Valley (St.)," added Durham. "That's a series that we can definitely win, so hopefully we can get some confidence going and play well this weekend."

The Colonels travel to Itta Bena, Miss., this weekend for a three-game series with Mississippi Valley State. Friday's first pitch is slated for 4 p.m. Fans can listen to the action live at www.ThibodauxOnLine.com.

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