April 15, 2008

Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Colonels kept it close through seven innings before LSU ran away with the lead, plating six runs in the eighth inning to defeat Nicholls 11-2 Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium.

"My hat goes off to this LSU club - they played a great game," said Colonel skipper Chip Durham. "I was proud of our guys and the way they competed. We came here and played hard and gave ourselves a chance."

Louis Coleman picked up the win for the Tigers, throwing five innings of three-hit baseball. The hurler did not allow a run and struck out four.

Colonel starter Justin Breaux lasted 6.1 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on five hits. The senior lefty walked three and fanned four as he falls to 1-4 on the season.

"Justin Breaux gave us a great performance tonight," noted Durham. "A few errors and a walk put us down early, but he went in and competed and kept us in the ballgame.

LSU (23-13) drew first blood in the bottom half of the second, taking a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly to right field by Taylor Davis that plated Johnny Dishon. Dishon reached base on a two-base error earlier in the inning and advanced to third on a failed pickoff move by the Colonel pitcher.

The Tigers put up three in the fourth when Davis homered to right field, scoring three runs and giving LSU a 4-1 lead. The three-run blast scored Ochinko and Dishon who had reached earlier in the inning on a single and a walk, respectively.

Nicholls (6-30) cut the lead in half in the sixth as Shane Barksdale blasted a two-run shot over the scoreboard in right field, plating Kulbeth on the drive. The two-RBI homer is the second this season for the senior outfielder who is from Baton Rouge.

But LSU got those runs back and more on a back-to-back doubles by Nicholas Pontiff and Buzzy Haydel in the eighth. Pontiff's two-bagger plated three runs, clearing the bases, and was part of a six-run inning for the Tigers.

"Our bullpen just struggled tonight like it has all year," added Durham, "but we were aggressive at the plate and gave ourselves a chance in the middle of the game to put something together."

Shane Barksdale finished 1-for-4 on the night with two RBI. Brett Hoeflich was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning.

Walter Jones, T.J. Menerey and Brandt Boudreaux posted the only other hits on the night for the Colonels, all finishing 1-for-4 at the plate.

The Colonels return to Baton Rouge Wednesday night to face Southern University in the second half of a midweek home-and-home series. Last week, the Jaguars defeated the Colonels 6-1 in Thibodaux.

Fans can follow the action live on KTIB 640 AM or on the internet at www.ThibodauxOnLine.com.

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