THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team dropped their series finale to Sam Houston, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon at Ray E. Didier Field.
The Colonels (10-14, 2-7 SLC) held a 1-0 lead in the sixth, but the Bearkats (12-12, 6-3 SLC) used a three-run seventh to earn the win and hand Nicholls its first three-game series sweep since Feb. 16, 2014.
Following Saturday's contest, the Colonels battled an even more important opponent, joining the fight against childhood cancer. The team and coaching staff shaved their heads in support of the Vs. Cancer Foundation, which is dedicated to saving kids' lives by empowering athletes and communities to fund lifesaving childhood cancer efforts.
You can join the fight too! Visit the Nicholls Baseball Vs. Cancer page at team.vs-cancer.org/nichollsbaseball to make a donation.
The Colonels took the lead on Saturday after a bases-loaded walk by
Trevor Flynn forced
Kyle Knauth home.
Sam Houston quickly responded in the seventh, converting two singles, a triple and a suicide squeeze into three runs.
Joey Morales led Nicholls offensively, batting 3-for-4, while
Gavin Wehby finished 2-for-4 on the afternoon.
Andrew Fregia paced the Bearkats with a 1-for-4 performance, two RBIs and a run scored.
Cole Stapler (2-3) took the loss despite a solid day from the mound. Stapler surrendered three runs on nine hits with two strikeouts through seven innings. In relief,
Zach Thiac and
Robbie Petty combined to allow just one hit over the final two innings.
Riley Gossett (3-0) earned the win, giving up one run on five hits while fanning seven batters through six innings on the hill. Greg Belton earned his second save of the year, allowing two hits with two strikeouts over the final two innings.
The Colonels will host Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29 live on Cox Sports Television. Nicholls will then have an extremely quick turnaround, traveling to Biloxi, Miss. for a neutral site matchup against South Alabama at 7 p.m. on March 30.
For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball, visit geauxcolonels.com.
