Final Stats HAMMOND, La. – After falling behind big twice, the Nicholls State University baseball team rallied  to make a game of it late, but the lead was too much to overcome as the Colonels dropped the finale to Southeastern Louisiana 10-9 Saturday afternoon in Hammond.

With the loss the Colonels fall to 14-15 on the year and 1-5 in Southland Conference, while Southeastern remains undefeated in league play with a 21-8 overall record and 6-0 mark in the league.

The Colonels outhit SLU 15-8 over the course of the contest, but two errors and eight walks by Nicholls allowed the Lions to go up big, as Nicholls stranded 16 on base Saturday afternoon.

Seth Stevens and Mike Barba had three hits for the Colonels, with Stevens going 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and run scored, followed by Philip Lyons, Keith Cormier, Matt Richard and Brandon Jackson with two each. Cody Dufrene and Mike Barba made their hits of the game count, hitting back-to-back home runs in the sixth, with Dufrene's being a two-run bomb for his second of the season while Barba earned his first.

Taylor Byrd (4-2) took the loss after just 3.2 innings, allowing four runs, one earned, on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts. SLU's Jordan Hymel (4-2) lasted just five innings, allowing three runs on ten hits, with three walks and four strikeouts, with Kaleb Manuel pitching the next three innings giving up just one hit with five strikeouts as Dylan Hills (7) earned the save getting out the final two batters of the contest with the bases loaded.

A leadoff walk to Matt Richard opened the game, as a sacrifice bunt by Leo Vargas advanced the outfielder to second. Lyons wasted little time extending his team-leading hitting streak to 12 games, hitting a short single to right field to put runners at the corners. A walk to Jackson loaded the bases, and the unthinkable happened as Keith Cormier hit into the inning-ending 4-6-3 double play to kill the drive.

After consecutive walks by Byrd open the Southeastern first, it looked like both starting pitchers would have trouble getting outs early, but the left-handed transfer settled down and got the next batter to strike out, while getting the next to line into the double play to get out of the frame the same way the Colonels did in the top half of the inning.

For the second consecutive inning, Nicholls got a runner to second in the form of a Stevens ground rule double, but the designated hitter was picked off for the second out with a strikeout ending the second.

The Lions got three straight hits to go up 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, with the initial run scoring on a heads-up play at the plate as Richard had a great throw on a single up the middle almost getting the out at home. Vargas had a short throw back to the plate to get the lead runner after a hard-hit chopper for the second out, as a well-timed play by the Nicholls defense caught a designed steal play got the lead runner at home 1-3-2 to end the inning.

A single by Lyons up the middle and bunt single by Jackson to third put two on with no outs. Cormier tried to put down a sacrifice bunt but it allowed Hymel to get out Lyons at third for the force out. After a strikeout looking, Stevens singled through the right side scoring Jackson to tie the game at 1-1, advancing Cormier to third to put runners at the corners with two outs. The inning eventually ended with a line out to left.

Two tough plays in the fourth were charged as errors to Vargas at short, putting runners at the corners with just one out. A walk loaded the bases, and after an infield popup for the second out, another walk plated the second SLU run of the game and ended Byrd's day. Zach Thiac came on and hit the first batter he faced and walked the next, giving the Lions a 4-1 advantage and got relieved for Jacob Rodrigue. The sophomore got the first batter to fly out to left finally ending the inning.

Richard singled to the shortstop and after two fly outs, singles to the outfield by Jackson and Cormier loaded the bases in the fifth, but a comebacker right to the pitcher ended the inning and another threat for Nicholls to try and get back into the game.

SLU scored for the third consecutive inning in the bottom half of the fifth, as Rodrigue got the first two batters of the inning in order, but then the wheels fell off as a hit, walk and single drove in the fifth run for SLU, eventually getting replaced for Kelby Langston. Langston threw a wild pitch giving the Lions a 6-1 lead as an infield single scored another Southeastern run for a 7-1 advantage. Mercifully, the inning ended with a grounder to second base.

A leadoff double by Stevens to centerfield was the least of Southeastern's problems in the inning, as Dufrene took a 1-1 pitch over the high fence in left field for the two run shot to make it 7-3, as Barba followed that up with a solo shot off of a new pitcher to make it 7-4 with no outs. A walk and hit batter put two runners back on, as the first out came on a pop fly to center. A called third strike looking was the second out, as an error by the SLU second baseman loaded the bases. A wild pitch scored Richard making it 7-5, but a swinging strikeout ended the inning.

Lions first baseman Jameson Fisher hit a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the inning to push the SLU lead back up to three, 8-5.

With two outs, Barba doubled down the left field line to try and spark a run, as Richard walked to put two on. The threat ended quickly as a swinging strikeout ended the inning.

Jackson came on to pitch in the sixth and nearly got through the seventh without giving up anything, but a single to open the frame came back to haunt the junior as a wild pitch scored the run after two ground balls outs moved the runner to third to put up Southeastern 9-5. The Lions got one more run in the eighth to make it 10-5.

The last gasp for the Colonels in the ninth led to a bases-loaded situation, as Dufrene was walked, followed by consecutive singles by Barba and Richard, leading to a pitching change. A walk scored Dufrene to make it 10-6, with a fielder's choice by Lyons forcing Vargas out at second scoring Barba made it 10-7. A walk to Jackson re-loaded the bases with one out still, as Cormier drilled a single through the right side to make it 10-8. After a pitching change to Dylan Hills, Tyler Duplantis hit a sacrifice fly to center for the second out scoring Lyons to make it 10-9, but a chopper groundout ended the game with two left on.

Nicholls will be back in action on Tuesday night, traveling to the Crescent City to take on the Tulane Green Wave at 6:30 p.m.