Final Stats Seth Thibodeaux Postgame Comments

Box Score

THIBODAUX, La. – After being held to zero runs two times over the weekend, the Nicholls State University baseball team turned the tables in its 2014 home debut, as five Colonels combined for a four-hit shutout to lift Nicholls to a 9-0 victory over Loyola University New Orleans.

The win for Nicholls (1-3) was its fourth straight in its home openers. With the loss, Loyola falls to 5-5 on the year.

The Colonel pitching staff combined for 13 strikeouts and walked only four. Starter Michael Hanchar pitched four innings in his Colonel debut, surrendering one hit while striking out five. Senior left hander Cody Tillotson gave up two hits in one inning, and freshman Cole Stapler picked up the win after providing two innings of strong relief, allowing one hit while striking out five.

The Ks continued in the eighth as Jason McDonald struck out the side before Marc Picciola pitched the ninth, ending the game on a short-to-first double play.

Despite finishing with just five hits, the Colonels generated runs by timely hitting, stealing bases and taking advantage of three Wolf Pack errors. Nicholls had nine stolen bases on the night with Justin Holt swiping three bags. The nine steals by the Colonels were the most since April 15, 2005, when had nine, which also came against the Wolf Pack.

Seniors Tyler Duplantis and Philip Lyons led Nicholls at the plate with three RBIs each. Duplantis, who was 2-for-5, drove in a run in the Colonels' three-run third, and blooped a two-run double down the right field line in the Colonel eighth to blow open the game, giving Nicholls a 9-0 lead.

Nicholls scored its first run of the night when Lyons drove home Leo Vargas, who led off the third inning with a hit-by-pitch. After Duplantis' RBI single up the middle, Justin Smith put Nicholls up 3-0 on a sacrifice fly.

With the help of two inning-ending double plays, Hanchar faced the minimum through three innings, and it wasn't until the fourth when Loyola's Philip Cazayoux laid down a perfect bunt for the 'Pack's first hit.

In the seventh, Nicholls took advantage of a leadoff error to plate two runs. The Colonels stole three bases in the frame, scoring on a Lyons single and a Keith Cormier sac fly.

Leading 5-0 in the eighth, the Colonels put any hopes of a comeback to rest with four more runs. Two more errors by Loyola fueled the inning, leading to a run-scoring single by Vargas and an RBI fielder's choice by Lyons. Duplantis' double capped the inning before Picciola closed the game out in the ninth.

Along with Holt, Duplantis and Lyons had multi-steal days, as they both finished with two each. Cormier and Darius Knight also swiped a bag in the win.

Stewart Campbell took the loss for Loyola, pitching 2.2 innings with three earned on two hits.

Nicholls will have Wednesday off before starting play on Thursday in the Carmel Inn Showdown presented by The Sports Medicine Center of Thibodaux Regional. The Colonels will square off against Western Illinois at Ray E. Didier Field, with a 6:30 p.m. start.