LAFAYETTE, La. – The Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette had no answers for the Nicholls State University pitching staff on Wednesday night as the Colonels used a dominant defensive effort to register a 3-1 victory in front of 4,100 fans at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
Nicholls (13-10-1, 4-5 SLC) jumped on top early with a run in the first inning.
Darius Knight singled to the pitcher and advanced to second on a
Kyle Reese groundout. Knight took advantage of a miscue by the Ragin' Cajuns (13-9, 5-3 Sun Belt), scoring as
Justin Smith reached on a fielding error.
The Colonels added a run in the third when
Justin Holt singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Knight and came home as Reese reached on a throwing error.
Louisiana-Lafayette fought back in the fourth inning, cutting the lead in half. Stefan Trosclair crushed a double down the leftfield line, scoring Blake Trahan and bringing the score to 2-1.
Nicholls returned a punch to the Ragin' Cajuns in the sixth when
Tanner Vandevere singled to third base, advanced to second on a
Christian Correa line-drive up the middle and came home on a
Seth Stevens sacrifice fly.
The Colonels played chess over the final five innings of the game, using five relief pitchers in to stifle the Louisiana-Lafayette offense and seal the victory.
Louisiana-Lafayette provided a scare in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with only one out. Derek Herrington made contact, but the sure handed
David Zorn fielded the ball and fired it back to Correa for the force at home. The next Ragin' Cajun batter flew out and ended the game.
Ryan Deemes tossed the opening four frames, surrendering one run on three hits with a strikeout. In relief,
Cole Stapler,
Zach Thiac,
Jason McDonald and
Robbie Petty combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits while fanning five batters. Stapler (1-0) was awarded his first win of the season.
Stuart Holmes took the mound for the final 1 1/3 innings, allowing two hits on the way to his ninth save of the year.
Connor Toups (1-1) took the loss, allowing three unearned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts.
Knight led Nicholls at the plate, hitting 2-for-4 with a run scored. Correa also hit 2-for-4 while Holt finished 1-for-4 with a run. Stevens registered the lone RBI for the Colonels.
Seven batters notched a hit for Louisiana-Lafayette, led by Trahan with a 1-for-3 outing and a run scored.
The Colonels will battle Southeastern Louisiana in a home-away-home three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. in Thibodaux, before hosting Alcorn State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Friday and Sunday's matchups will be broadcast live in KNSU 91.5 FM, while Saturday's contest will air on KTIB 640 AM.
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats, video and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball.
