Box Score and Play-by-Play

THIBODAUX - What started as a slugfest early became a pitchers' duel as the Nicholls State University baseball team (21-22, 11-12 Southland Conference) rallied from a 3-0 first inning deficit only to fall 3-2 to Texas-San Antonio (20-24, 12-11 Southland Conference) on Saturday at Ray E. Didier Field.

The Roadrunners struck first, plating three runs in the first inning and chasing Nicholls right handed starter Brian Arceneaux after just 0.2 IP.  Fortunately, for Nicholls, the Colonel bullpen handcuffed the UTSA lineup the rest of the way. 

Freshman right hander Dylan Delaune came on in relief of Arceneaux and delivered 4.1 IP of scoreless relief, limiting UTSA to just two hits and pitching around four walks by striking out a pair of batters.  Junior left hander Brad Delatte followed by shutting the door on UTSA over the final 4.0 IP.  Delatte allowed just a pair of hits while striking out four without allowing a walk to keep the Colonels in the game.

Facing a 3-0 deficit after the top of the first, the Colonels began mounting their rally in the bottom of the first.  Senior shortstop Chase Jaramillo drove a one-out single up the middle.  Junior DH Jeremy Hill followed with a base hit through the right side to put runners at the corners and a two-out RBI single by senior right fielder Scott Moseley scored Jaramillo put Nicholls on the board.

Down 3-1, the Colonels struck again in the bottom of the second.  Senior catcher Jason Dennis led off the inning with a single up the middle, took second on a wild pitch and took third on a passed ball.  Senior center fielder Bear Comer then brought Dennis home and pulled Nicholls to within a run at 3-2 with an RBI groundout to shortstop.

However, that would be all the Colonels could muster against UTSA starter Taylor Walton.  The Roadrunner right hander kept Nicholls off the board the rest of the way, retiring 20 of the final 23 batters he faced to preserve the win for UTSA.

The Roadrunner victory evens the series between the Colonels and UTSA.  Nicholls will try go for the series victory on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch scheduled for the finale of the three game series. 

Sunday will be Beverage Coozie Day sponsored by Buquet Distributing.  Adult fans will recieve free beverage coozies while supplies last courtesy of Buquet Distributing and Buquet Distributing will be distributing giveaway items with each Colonel stolen base and each strikeout by Nicholls pitching.