Final Stats THIBODAUX, La. – Trailing 1-0 for five innings with just a few hits to their credit, the Nicholls State University baseball team kept chipping away at Stephen F. Austin pitching and eventually broke through scoring three runs in seventh and eighth to take the lead and propel Mike Suk to his first win of the season in a 3-1 Southland Conference opening series win over the Lumberjacks Friday night in Thibodaux.

Nicholls (13-10, 1-0 Southland) is currently on its longest winning streak of the year, winners of its last four and improved its home record to 7-3 at Ray E. Didier Field in 2013. The Lumberjacks (9-12, 0-1) have lost their last four and 2-10 away from Nacogdoches.

Suk (1-2) went all nine innings for the Colonels in the win, allowing just one run on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts, allowing the defense to play behind him that turned two double plays on the evening getting the Blairstown, N.J. native out of two big innings early in the contest.

On the other side, it was two errors that doomed Stephen F. Austin in the loss, as the Lumberjacks stranded seven base runners in the game, including a bases-loaded opportunity in the second and third that could have blown the game open for the visitors. Starting pitcher Chase Greening (2-1) pitched seven solid innings, stifling the Nicholls offense until he finally broke giving up a run on four hits while striking out seven, as reliever Cass Ingvardsen pitched the final inning giving up both runs unearned, with a walk on just 14 pitches.

Of Nicholls' four hits, Philip Lyons had two going 2-for-4 with a run scored, as Matt Richard and Keith Cormier had the others.

SFA scored their first run of the game in the second and could have gotten more, getting two hits and a couple of walks to load the bases before a strikeout and fielder's choice got Suk out of the inning without further damage. But in the very next inning the Lumberjacks loaded the bases again after a leadoff walk and double began the inning with just one out, but a key bounce off of a grounder to Lyons after another walk led to an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

The Colonels didn't get their first runner on base until the third, but that came on a hit batter with two outs as Zorn got plunked on the leg to take first, but a strikeout ended the inning as Nicholls still didn't have a hit up until that point. Lyons singled up the middle for the first base knock of the game in the fourth for Nicholls, advancing to second on a wild pitch, but with two outs already another strikeout ended the inning.

In the fifth, Cormier ripped a single through the right side for the Colonels' second hit of the game, but the designated hitter was picked off on a failed bunt from the catcher at first base nullifying the hit and Nicholls went down in order after that to end the fifth.

With one out in the sixth, Richard hit a slow-rolling single that got the Lumberjacks out of sorts on the right side of the infield and slid in safely for the base hit. The Lumberjacks got a great play in right field on a charging catch that could have fallen for a single for the second out of the inning, but a perfect hit-and-run sequence resulted in a single through the left side for Lyons' second hit of the game that advanced Richard to third putting runners at the corners. On a pitch out, Brandon Jackson laced a shot to right field that looked to drop scoring Richard, but a diving catch ended the inning keeping the Colonels scoreless.

After getting plunked on the arm to take first with one out, Cormier reached first and stole second with Tyler Duplantis getting walked to put two on in the seventh. A wild pitch moved both into scoring position at second at third with Dufrene at the plate, who hit a dribbler that froze everyone on the field as it allowed Cormier to score but got Duplantis out at second on the fielder's choice to tie the game at 1-1.

A booted ball by the shortstop allowed Richard to reach first base, as a sacrifice bunt by Leo Vargas advanced the senior to second. After a walk to Lyons and stolen bases by the two, Jackson hit a shot to second base but the speedy Richard scored anyway to give Nicholls the 2-1 lead putting runners at the corners, but it only got worse as an error by Ingvardsen on a Barba grounder allowed Lyons to score unearned to put Nicholls up 3-1 for the final score of the game.

Game two of the series is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday in Thibodaux