Final Stats NEW ORLEANS, La. – For the seventh consecutive game the Nicholls State University baseball team pounded out double-digit hits, and in the process snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating the Tulane Green Wave 5-3 Tuesday night at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium in New Orleans. 

With the win the Colonels (15-15) have now defeated Tulane (15-16) in consecutive games for the first time since 1995, which is also the last time Nicholls has defeated the Green Wave twice in the same season.

Leading 2-1 after just five innings, the Colonels scored three runs in the seventh to go up for good, withstanding a two-out, two-run rally by Tulane in the bottom of the ninth to claim the win.

Nicholls had four players finish the game with two hits beginning with third baseman Brandon Jackson who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored. Redshirt junior shortstop Leo Vargas who was the driving force for the Nicholls offense early, went 2-for-3 with two RBI, including cranking the first home run of his career in the first and hitting a double in the fifth to lead the Colonels, followed by Matt Richard's two hits, one being his league-leading fourth triple of the season. Keith Cormier tripled for the first time this season as the left fielder continues to stay hot at the plate going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.

Although unorthodox in its execution, the Colonels used eight pitchers on the night with Grant Borne earning the win as Nicholls held Tulane to three runs on eight hits with three walks and eight strikeouts. Borne (2-0) went the first two innings and allowed just one hit with three strikeouts in his fourth start. 

Vargas set the tone in a big way in the opening frame, taking a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence 340 feet away to give Nicholls a 1-0 lead to jumpstart the game with just one out. After a groundout, a walk to Jackson put one on with two outs, as a single by Cormier put runners at the corners but a fielder's choice grounder ended the inning.

After a single by Stevens up the middle and hit by pitch to Dufrene, the Colonels were looking to extend its lead in the second after a strikeout to Mike Barba gave the Colonels their first out. Richard drilled a single over the head of the shortstop, advancing Dufrene to third but the throw in from left field got Stevens at home keeping Nicholls off of the board, with a groundout ending the threat.

Richard led off the fifth with a wall-banging triple, as Vargas came through in the clutch again with a double to score the speedy outfielder to put Nicholls up 2-0. The shortstop tried legging the double into a triple but another great throw from left got Vargas at third for the first out. After another fly ball out, Jackson doubled down the left field line to keep the inning going, moving to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Cormier, a fielder's choice grounder ended the inning.

After nearly lugging through another scoreless inning, Tulane cut the lead in half plating a run in the bottom of the fifth, after a balk call on Jacob Rodrigue advanced a runner to second before a double to left center brought the run in with two outs.

The Colonels got that run back and then some in the seventh, putting up three runs in the inning getting a big, two-RBI triple from Cormier scoring Vargas who got hit by a pitch and Jackson who singled to right. Tyler Duplantis put down a sacrifice bunt scoring Cormier from third to give Nicholls a 5-1 advantage for the final run of the inning.

The Colonels will be back in action on Friday, hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a three-game Southland Conference series at 6:30 p.m. at Ray E. Didier Field.