Box Score and Play-by-Play

THIBODAUX - Junior first baseman Blake Bergeron finished a single short of the cycle and drove in a career-high six runs, the most by a Colonel batter this season, to lead a 12-hit attack and power the Nicholls State University baseball team (13-16) past in-state rival University of New Orleans (2-27) on Tuesday night.

Bergeron, the cleanup hitter on the night, went 3-for-6 with a three-run homer, a two-run triple and an RBI double.  The Houma native combined with the rest of the top six batters in the Nicholls order to record 11 of the Colonels 12 hits with the two through five holes each recording multi-hit games.

The Colonels struck in the bottom of the first as Bergeron launched his third home run of the season, a three run shot down the left field line to stake Nicholls to a 3-0 lead.  However, UNO starter Kyle Blancaneaux soon settled in, keeping the Colonels off the board in each of the next four innings.

Fortunately, for Nicholls, junior left handed starter Brad Delatte was just as effective early on.  The St. Amant native kept the Privateers off the board through the first 4.0 IP and the Colonel defense backed him up by turning three double plays on the night to keep Nicholls out in front 3-0 through four.

However, the Privateers struck in the top of the fifth as a pair of costly Nicholls errors and three UNO hits led to a four run fifth, giving the Privateers a 4-3 lead after five.

Luckily, for Nicholls, the Colonel lineup got back on track in the bottom of the sixth.  A one-out single by junior DH Jeremy Hill was followed by Bergeron's second extra-base hit of the night, this time a double down the left field line plated Hill and tied the ballgame at 4-4.  Senior outfielder Scott Moseley followed with a single up the middle to put runners at the corners, and a base hit through the right side of the infield by junior left fielder Michael LeGrange scored Bergeron and put Nicholls up 5-4.

The Colonels added some insurance in the bottom of the seventh as junior third baseman Mace Krol doubled and came around to score after consecutive singles by senior center fielder Bear Comer and senior shortstop Chase Jaramillo.  After Hill popped out, Bergeron drove a sinking liner to center field that went under the glove of a diving UNO center fielder Blake LeBlanc.  The ball rolled all the way to the wall, scoring Comer and Jaramillo and sending Bergeron off to the races.  Bergeron had an easy triple as was waved home, but a perfect relay throw had the Nicholls first baseman out at the plate on the bid for the inside-the-park home run.

With a comfortable lead in their possession, the Nicholls bullpen took over for Delatte in the sixth.  Lefthanders Corey Poche and Ryan Norton combined to deliver 4.0 IP of scoreless relief, allowing just three hits and one walk between them to preseve the 8-4 Nicholls win.

The win over the Privateers concludes a seven-game homestand for the Colonels that took place at three different ballparks.  The Colonels opened the homestand at Southland Field in Houma against Loyola-New Orleans on March 29 before returning to Ray E. Didier Field for a March 30 match-up against Alcorn State and a three-game Southland Conference series against Texas-Arlington.  The Colonels then hosted Southern at Acadian Ballpark in New Iberia before returning to Ray E. Didier Field against the Privateers.  Nicholls went 5-2 on the homestand.

The Colonels will now return to conference play and hit the road for a three-game Southland series at Northwestern State beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.  A free live streaming audio webcast will be made available at www.geauxcolonels.com and at www.ThibodauxOnline.com.