Final Stats CONWAY, Ark. – The Nicholls State University baseball team fell to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-2 on Thursday, ending their historic season after two straight losses in the Southland Conference Tournament.
 
The Colonels (32-26) jumped on top early behind a solo homerun blast from Leo Vargas in the second at bat of the game.
 
The Islanders (31-26) answered in the bottom of the frame when Kyle Danford notched a single through the right side, scoring Russell Vaughan.
 
Nicholls recaptured the lead in the fourth after Justin Smith singled up the middle to bring Christian Correa home.
 
AMCC answered again in the bottom of the inning when Jordan Lee scored on a fielder's choice.
 
After a pair of Colonel errors, the Islanders took the lead on a Lee single to left center that sent Vaughan in for the final score of the game.
 
Grant Borne (8-2) took the loss, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits with a walk and two strikeouts through 5 2/3 innings.
 
Trevor Belicek (5-6) picked up the win, tossing 7 1/3 innings with just two runs on six hits, while fanning six batters. Jacob Dorris earned his eighth save, striking out all four batters he faced.
 
Vargas led the Colonels at the plate, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and a home run. Correa hit 1-for-3 with a run and Smith was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
 
Jordan led the Islanders offensively, hitting 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Vaughan was 1-for-3 and scored twice.
 
It was a disappointing end to a strong season for Nicholls, with the pitcher of the year, coach of the year, and top pitching staff in the conference. The Colonels ended the year with their first winning season since 2002, their first winning conference record since 2000 and their first 30-win season since 1993.
 
"I had a group of seniors who worked really hard," Head Coach Seth Thibodeaux said. "We accomplished so much. It was breaking that barrier that we had to break - that mental barrier. They broke the barrier. It is important to understand how the seniors worked to get us here. We have to hand off the torch now and get the other guys ready to go."