Box Score and Play-by-Play

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Junior right hander Seth Webster delivered his first complete game as a Colonel.  Meanwhile, senior outfielder Bear Comer and junior first baseman Blake Bergeron each had three hits to spark the Nicholls lineup and lead the Nicholls State University baseball team (8-12, 1-6 Southland Conference) to a 6-2 win over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (16-7, 6-1 Southland Conference) in Nacogdoches on Friday afternoon.  The victory snapped an eight game losing streak for the Colonels, gave Nicholls its first conference win and handed the Lumberjacks their first conference loss of the season.

The Colonels jumped out to an early lead as Comer singled to leadoff the game, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chase Jaramillo, and came home to score on a two-out RBI double by Bergeron to stake Nicholls to a 1-0 lead after one half inning of play. 

However, the Lumberjacks, who began the day tied with Texas State for first place in the Southland Conference immediately answered in the home half of the first.  A leadoff bunt single by Bryson Myles and a throwing error by the Colonels was followed by a scarifice bunt and a scarifice fly to score Myers and tie the game at 1-1 after one.

Nicholls wasted no time in responding as junior outfielder Michael LeGrange led off the top of the second with a triple down the right field line before coming home on a squeeze bunt by senior catcher Jason Dennis to give Nicholls a 2-1 lead.

After giving up an unearned run in the first, Webster settled in for Nicholls.  The Colonel righthander held SFA off the board in each of the next three innings en route to his first complete game of the season.  Webster allowed just two runs, one earned on six hits and one walk while striking out six batters on the afternoon.

With Webster finding his groove, the Nicholls lineup went about getting their staff ace some insurance.  Nicholls increased its lead to 3-1 in the top of the fifth.  For the third time on the day, the Colonels got the leadoff man aboard and brought him around to score as junior second baseman Austin Flores drilled a leadoff double into the left center field gap before taking third on a bunt single by Comer and coming home to score on a ground out.

The Lumberjacks refused to go quietly, adding a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 3-2 on a solo home run, but that's as close as SFA would get.  Webster retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced to slam the door on the Lumberjacks the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, the Nicholls lineup put the game out of reach with three runs in the final two innings.  Jeremy Hill singled and scored on a run scoring ground out in the seventh to make it 4-2, and Bergeron delivered a bases loaded two-run single in the top of the ninth for the final 6-2 margin.