Box Score and Play-by-Play

RUSTON, La. -  An early pitchers' duel turned into a slugfest last as the Nicholls State University baseball team (1-2) racked up six runs on 12 hits, but it wasn't enough as Southern Illinois (2-1) outslugged the Colonels with 10 runs on 15 hits to take a 10-6 win on the final day of the 2011 Louisiana Tech Classic on Sunday.

Neither lineup could break through early on as Nicholls starter Brian Arceneaux retired seven of the first 12 batters he faced and held the Salukis scoreless in the first two innings.  However, Southern Illinois starter Todd Eaton was just as effective, holding the Colonels scoreless through the first three frames and retiring the first 11 Nicholls batters he faced.

The Salukis finally opened the scoring in the bottom of the third as a leadoff walk and an RBI double staked SIU to a 1-0 lead.  Nicholls answered in its next turn at bat as senior outfielder Scott Moseley sparked a two-out rally by singling, stealing second and coming around to score on an RBI single by junior first baseman Beau Faulk, tying the game at 1-1.

However, the Salukis broke the game open in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring three times by stringing together three hits, including a pair of doubles, and taking advantage of Nicholls error on a dropped fly ball to take a 4-1 lead after four innings.

The Colonels answered in the top of the fifth as junior designated hitter Blake Bergeron launched a leadoff homer.  Junior third baseman Mace Krol followed by singling and taking second on a wild pitch then coming around to score on an RBI single by senior outfielder Bear Comer to reduce the SIU lead to one at 4-3.

However, after junior reliever Dalton Torres held the Salukis scoreless through his 1.1 innings of relief, SIU began chipping away at the Nihcolls bullpen.  SIU scored twice in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to expand their lead.

After the Saluki bullpen kept the Colonels off the board in the sixth and seventh, Nicholls tried to rally in the top of the eighth.  The Colonels strung together three hits and took advantage of a pair of SIU errors en route to scoring three runs in the eighth.  A two-run single by Krol was the biggest blow of the inning and pulled Nicholls to within two of SIU at 8-6.

However, the Salukis' third straight two-run frame proved costly.  SIU scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to reclaim a four-run lead at 10-6.  Nicholls tried to mount one last rally, putting two men on with one out in the top of the ninth, but the Salukis held on and escaped the jam for the win.

The Colonels will return to action on Tuesday when they visit UL-Lafayette for the opener of a home-and-home series with the Cajuns.  After Tuesday's trip to Lafayette, the Colonels return to Nicholls on Wednesday for their 2011 home opener against the Cajuns.