Box Score and Play-by-Play

THIBODAUX - Down 8-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the Nicholls State University baseball team (17-19, 7-11 Southland Conference) scored nine unanswered runs in the Colonels' final four trips to the plate and freshman right hander Dylan Delaune deliverd 4.0 IP of scoreless relief to shut down Central Arkansas (18-18, 8-10 Southland Conference) the rest of the way and give the Colonels an 11-8 win in the finale of a three-game Southland Conference series at Ray E. Didier Field on Sunday.

The win helps the Colonels avoid a sweep at the hands of the Bears.  Central Arkansas won Friday's series opener 8-6, but only after Nicholls battled the Bears through five lead changes.  The Bears cruised to a 10-1 win on Saturday in game two, and looked for another big win on Sunday after taking an 8-2 lead through four-and-a-half innings.

The Colonels struck first as junior designated hitter Jeremy Hill delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the first.  The first of Hill's four singles on the day, which made him the first Colonel this year to record a four-hit day, scored senior cetner fielder Bear Comer and staked Nicholls to a 1-0 lead.  The Bears tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the top of the third, but Nicholls reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the inning as a two-out RBI double by junior left fielder Michael LeGrange scored senior right fielder Scott Moseley all the way from first to put the Colonels up 2-1.

However, the Bears exploded for three runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth,  recording six of their nine hits in those two frames en route to taking an 8-2 lead.

The Colonels answered in the bottom of the fifth.  Nicholls strung together three consecutive hits, including an RBI double by Moseley, while taking advantage of a pair of errors and seeing junior third baseman Mace Krol get hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score four times (including three unearned runs) in the bottom of the fifth and reduce the UCA lead to 8-6 after five.

Krol would help the Colonels creep ever closer in the sixth as Nicholls loaded the bases with two outs and Krol drew an RBI walk to make it 8-7.

With the Nicholls lineup getting back into the ballgame, freshman right hander Dylan Delaune came on in relief and handcuffed the Bears offense.  Delaune faced just two batters over the minimum in his 4.0 IP and allowed just one hit and two walks to UCA and the Bears advanced just one runner to second base in the final four innings.

Delaune's clutch performance out of the bullpen to stop the bleeding set the stage for the Colonels' game-winning rally.  Down 8-7 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Colonels got a leadoff single from Moseley, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by LeGrange.  Krol followed with a slow roller to shortstop, Moseley, who was off on the pitch, drew a throw to third by the Bears' shortsop and beat out the play putting runners at the corners with one out. 

Senior outfielder Kasey Culverson came on to pinch hit and attempted to lay down a safety squeeze, but popped the bunt attempt straight up into the air.  Fortunately, for Nicholls, the ball dropped in between the UCA pitcher, catcher, third baseman and first baseman in front of the mound, allowing Culverson to reach and load the bases.

Freshman second baseman Philip Lyons followed, and after falling behind in the count 0-2, layed off two close pitches to even the count at 2-2.  In protection mode, Lyons fouled off three consecutive pitches to stay alive before laying off a close pitch on the outside corner to force a full count.  The payoff pitch was way outside and the bases loaded walk scored Moseley and tied the game at 8-8.

Comer followed with an RBI groundout to second to give Nicholls the 9-8 lead, but the Colonels were looking for more.  Senior shortstop Chase Jaramillo delivered lining a single to right center field and driving home a pair of two-out runs to put Nicholls up 11-8.

Delaune came back out for his fourth inning of work, and, after allowing a two-out single, clinched the win with a line out to center field.

The Colonels will return to action on Tuesday when Nicholls heads to New Orleans looking for a sweep of the University of New Orleans.  First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Live stats and a free live streaming audio webcast will be made available at www.geauxcolonels.com and www.ThibodauxOnline.com.  The Colonels will return to Nicholls on Thursday when the Colonels open a three-game Southland Conference series against Sam Houston State.