Box Score and Play-by-Play

THIBODAUX - Junior right hander Seth Webster put on a pitching clinic on Thursday night, recording his third complete game of the season and leading the Nicholls State University baseball team (19-19, 8-11 Southland Conference) to a 7-0 win over Sam Houston State (26-14, 11-8 Southland Conference) in the opener of a three-game Southland Conference series at Ray E. Didier Field on Thursday night.

Webster delivered the first shutout by Nicholls pitching since March 9, 2010 (a 7-0 win over LSU-Alexandria) and the first complete game shutout by a Colonel hurler since former Nicholls right hander Tyler Minto pitched Nicholls to a 3-0 win over Central Arkansas on April 11, 2009.

Sam Houston's only real threat came in the top of the first as Bearkat second baseman Ryan Mooney led off the inning by reaching on an error and SHSU second baseman Braeden Riley (who tied the school's career hits record on Thursday night) followed with a single to put runners at first and second.  However, Webster coaxed a double play grounder off the bat of SHSU DH Chris Andreas to erase Riley, and Webster struck out Bearkat center fielder Mark Hudson looking to strand Mooney at third.

It was smooth sailing for Webster sfter that.  The DeRidder, La. native did not allow a runner past second base the rest of the night, and the Buckeye High School product did not allow a runner past first base over the final six frames en route to a complete game performance that saw Webster limit the Bearkats to six hits while striking out four and allowing no walks.

The Colonel defense pitched in, turning a pair of double plays to ensure that Webster faced only four batters over the minimum en route to the Colonels' first complete game shutout since Minto's gem two years and ten days earlier.

With Webster dealing, the Colonel lineup went in search of giving their ace some run support.  Nicholls broke through in the bottom of the second, sending eight men to the plate to score five runs. 

The Colonels strung together seven hits in the frame with senior right fielder Scott Moseley and junior left fielder Michael LeGrange starting the inning with consecutive singles.  A sacrifice bunt by junior third baseman Mace Krol put runners at second and third and senior catcher Jason Dennis followed with a chopper to the left side that was knocked down deep in the hole by RIley, the SHSU shortstop.  However, Riley had no play, allowing Moseley to score on the infield hit and stake Nicholls to a 1-0 lead.

That was only the beginning as freshman second baseman Philip Lyons followed with a single up the middle to score LeGrange.  Senior center fielder Bear Comer followed with a bunt single to load the bases, and senior shortstop Chase Jaramillo followed with the biggest hit of the inning, a bases clearing double to the right center field gap to put Nicholls up 5-0.

The Colonels tacked on two more in the bottom of the seventh as Comer drove an RBI double down the left field line for his first extra-base hit since May 22, 2010, and Jaramillo delivered an run scoring single for his fourth RBI of the night to make it 7-0.

The Colonels will look for the series victory on Friday with a 6 p.m. first pitch set for game two in the three game series against the Bearkats.  Live stats and live streaming audio will be made available at www.geauxcolonels.com and www.ThibodauxOnline.com.