April 23, 2010

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Beau Faulk stretched his hitting streak to eight games, and claimed his sixth multi-hit game in that stretch. However, Faulk's 2-for-4 night wasn't enough as the Nicholls State University baseball team (18-19, 8-11 Southland Conference) fell to the defending conference tournament champion Sam Houston State Bearkats (16-23, 9-10 Southland Conference) by a final of 11-5 on Friday night.

The 11-5 decision gave the Bearkats a 1.0 game lead over the Colonels for the eighth and final Southland Conference Tournament spot.

The Bearkat bats scored early and and often as SHSU totaled 15 hits and scored in all but three of their trips to the plate. A five run bottom of the third broke the game open and gave SHSU an insurmountable lead.

The Colonels piled up 11 hits, led by Faulk and Brady Bourque (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, R). However, Nicholls managed just two runs in the sixth before tacking on three more in the top of the ninth for the 11-5 final.

Nicholls will try to even the series at one game each when they two teams meet for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday in game two of the three game series.

A win over the Bearkats would put the Colonels back into a tie for the eighth and final Southland Conference Tournament seed.

NOTES:

With 16 regular season games remaining the Colonels need the following:

1 more overall win to surpass their 2009 overall win total

2 more conference wins to surpass their 2009 conference win total

2 more overall wins for their first 20-win season since going 22-31 in 2005.

2 more conference wins for their first 10-win Southland Conference season since going 11-15 in the Southland in 2002.

7 more overall wins for their first 25-win season since going 28-26 in 2003.

7 more conference wins for their first 15-win Southland Conference season since going 15-12 against Southland competition in 2000.

12 more overall wins for their first 30-win season since going 31-19 in 1993.

12 more conference wins for their first ever 20-win conference season.