Final Stats Box Score

HOUSTON – Looking to rebound from an opening day loss, the Nicholls State University baseball team was able to get one more hit than it had in the opener, including a pair of doubles, but the scoring drought continued as Houston's pitching staff kept the Colonels off the scoreboard in a 4-0 decision Saturday night at Cougar Field.

Keith Cormier led Nicholls at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double. Tyler Duplantis also doubled as the 1 thru 4 hitters accounted for five of the Colonels' six hits. Philip Lyons, Justin Smith and Christian Correa all recorded singles.

With the teams scoreless after three innings, Cormier led off the fourth with his double, but was stranded at second after three straight outs.

In the bottom half, Houston (2-0) tagged Ryan Deemes (0-1) with four hits to take a 2-0 lead. Deemes gave up two hits in the previous inning, but the Colonels turned a double play on a liner to second to escape the inning. But in the fourth, two singles led to a stolen base at home by Kyle Survance, and an RBI double by Justin Montemayor put the Colonels down 2-0. Deemes would leave the game, pitching 3.2 innings with seven hits and three strikeouts.

In the Houston fifth, Survance started a two-out rally with a single to center off Justin Sinibaldi. After another single, Casey Grayson belted a two-run double down the left field line to make the score 4-0.

The Colonels posted their biggest threat of the night in the eighth, loading the bases with one out. Lyons and Cormier singled in the frame, and a Houston error filled up the bases. But Jared Robinson, who relieved starter Jake Lemoine (1-0) after seven shutout innings, struck out Smith on a 2-2 pitch before throwing out Marc Frazier on a grounder.

In the ninth, Robinson struck out the side to clinch the series victory for the Cougars.

The Colonels surrendered 10 hits on the night, with Sinibaldi allowing three in 3.1 innings. Zach Thiac also pitched an inning, finishing with a walk and a strikeout.

The series will conclude on Sunday, with first pitch at Cougar Park slated for 1 p.m.