Box Score and Play-by-Play

THIBODAUX - Junior right hander Seth Webster delivered his sixth complete game of the season, and his fourth CG in his last five starts, to help keep the Nicholls State University baseball team's (24-27, 13-18 Southland Conference) postseason hopes alive with a 7-2 win over McNeese State (26-28, 13-17 Southland Conference) at Ray E. Didier Field on Thursday night.

The Colonels still need to complete a three-game sweep of the Cowboys in the final three-game conference series of the season as well as either a Stephen F. Austin sweep of Lamar or at least one win by Texas State over Texas-Arlington to clinch a trip to the 2011 Southland Conference Tournament and qualify for consecutive Southland Conference Tournaments for the first time in school history.

Nicholls took care of the first item on its checklist on Thursday night as the Colonels piled up 12 hits to plate seven runs for the series opening win.  Nicholls struck for three runs in the bottom of the first.  Junior first baseman Blake Bergeron drilled a two-run triple to center field to score senior shortstop Chase Jaramillo and junior designated hitter Jeremy Hill before coming home to score on an RBI ground out off the bat of senior right fielder Scott Moseley to stake Nicholls to a 3-0 lead.

That would be all Webster would need as the Nicholls ace faced the minimum through his first 4.1 IP.  Webster allowed just three three-ball counts on the night and did not allow three balls until the top of the seventh inning.  Webster allowed a pair of runs in the seventh, but escaped a bases loaded jam in the eighth and retire the side in order in the ninth to preserve the win.

Offensively, Nicholls kept the pressure on the Cowboys, striking for one run each in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh en route to the 7-2 win.  Every Nicholls starter put his name in the hit column with four different Colonels recording multi-hit games.  Bergeron led the way by going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.  Hill was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, sophomore outfielder Mike Barba was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored, senior catcher Jason Dennis was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored and junior first baseman Beau Faulk a pair of RBI on a 1-for-4 night.

The Colonels will look to continue to keep their postseason hopes alive on Friday night when Nicholls faces McNeese in game two of the final three-game Southland Conference series of the regular season.  First pitch between the Colonels and Cowboys is set for 6 p.m. at Ray E. Didier Field in Thibodaux.  Links to live stats and a streaming audio webcast will be made available at www.geauxcolonels.com and at www.ThibodauxOnline.com.

NOTES

Thursday night's game served as the Colonels' inaugural Bat Against Breast Cancer Game.  The Nicholls baseball team donned special pink jerseys sponsored by Thibodaux Regional Medical Center.  The jerseys were then auctioned off after the game with all proceeds benefitting the Bayou Region Foundation of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The Colonels auctioned off more than 30 jerseys and expect to have raised multiple thousands of dollars when the final totals are calculated.