Final Stats BATON ROUGE, La. – It was an eventful game that came down to the final out as the Nicholls State University baseball team defeated conference rival University of New Orleans 7-4 in a heated matchup on Friday night at Ray E. Didier Field.
 
The Privateers (11-27, 3-17 SLC) took an early lead, scoring a run in the first inning on a Reese Kantar single up the middle that drove Trevor McCarthy home.
 
Philip Lyons led off with a single to jump-start the Colonels (23-20, 13-6 SLC) who wrestled back the lead in the bottom of the frame. Leo Vargas was hit by a pitch and both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Keith Cormier walked to load the bases. Seth Stevens singled to bring Lyons and Vargas in and take a 2-1 lead.
 
Christian Correa led off the second inning and was hit by a pitch, setting in motion events that would trigger drama and flaring tempers later in the ballgame. Lyons singled through the right side, advancing Correa to second, before a Vargas single to left loaded the bases. Cormier notched a single to center field, scoring Correa and Lyons, before Seth Stevens blasted a double to clear the bases. Stevens advanced to third on a wild pitch before Duplantis reached on an error that allowed Stevens to come home. Duplantis stole second and advanced to third when David Zorn reached on an error by the shortstop. The Colonels then attempted a double steal that resulted in Duplantis being thrown out at home. On the play, UNO catcher Brian Dixon recorded the out and proceeded to slam the baseball into home plate while glaring at Duplantis. Words were exchanged ­before the pair walked back to their respective dugouts.
 
The fiery actions by Dixon ignited the Privateers, who cut the lead to three in the third inning. Kantar singled through the left side to score McCarthy, before a Cameron Hoffman single up the middle brought Kantar and Hezekiah Randolph in.
 
In the bottom of the third, Correa was hit by a pitch as the leadoff batter for the second straight inning, prompting home plate umpire James Meyer to throw Privateer pitcher Daniel Martinez out of the game. UNO head coach Ron Maestri stormed the field, yelling and making wild gestures in the face of both Meyer and first base umpire Thomas Walkoviak. Maestri returned to the Privateer dugout for a couple of minutes before getting a second wind and returning to the field to argue the call for an additional few minutes. Maestri again returned to his dugout, but continued to argue the call throughout the inning.
 
Things would get even more interesting in the final frame. Reliever Marc Picciola entered the game for Nicholls and immediately hit Samuel Capielano with a pitch, prompting Maestri to come onto the field for a third time, arguing that Picciola should be ejected. Picciola walked the next batter before nailing Jonathan Coco in the back to load the bases. Head coach Seth Thibodeaux immediately took the field to make a pitching change but was cut off by Privateer third base coach James Jurries, who had a few words for thibodeaux before he reached the mound.
 
Lefty Stuart Holmes relieved Picciola, and the Colonels finished the game in fittingly dramatic fashion. Randolph grounded to Duplantis at third, and Duplantis tossed the ball to Correa for the force out at home. Correa noticed Capielano rounding third and fired the ball to Vargas who tagged him out and completed the 6-2-5 double play. With the next at bat, Kantar lined a potential base hit up the middle. In a full sprint, Lyons dove and scooped the ball with his glove to Vargas on second, recording the final out and ending the game.
 
Lefty Taylor Byrd (7-2) earned the win Nicholls, tossing six innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Holmes received his third save of the year, throwing the final frame for the Colonels.
 
Nick Halliday (2-6) took the loss, surrendering seven runs in 1 1/3 innings with a walk.
 
Stevens filled the stat sheet offensively, hitting 4-for-4 with a triple, a double, four RBIs, a run and a walk. Lyons went 3-for-4 with two runs and a walk, while Cormier had two RBIs and a run scored.
 
Kanter led the UNO at the plate, going 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run. Hoffman was 2-for-4 and knocked two Privateers in.
 
The teams will square off in New Orleans at Maestri Field on Saturday at 2 p.m. before returning to Ray E. Didier Field for the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on KTIB 640 AM.