Final Stats SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Trailing by two runs with a man on in the ninth inning, Trevor Flynn got ahold of a fastball and sent it soaring toward the right field wall for what looked like a game-tying two-run home run, but Cardinal right fielder Braden Martin made a leaping grab inches from the top of the wall and Incarnate Word held on for a 7-5 victory over the Nicholls State University baseball team on Saturday evening.
 
The Colonels (13-20, 4-10 SLC) scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning after a Justin Holt single sent Quade Smith home.
 
Gavin Wehby sent Joey Morales in and gave Nicholls a two-run advantage with a single in the third.
 
After a scoreless fourth, the Cardinals (8-23, 3-8 SLC) stole the momentum in the fifth inning, converting four hits and an error into five runs.
 
The Colonels scored a run in the sixth when an Ethan Valdez single sent Holt home, but Incarnate Word punched back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to secure a four-run lead.
 
Nicholls answered with two runs in the seventh. Kyle Knauth crushed a leadoff double and came home on a Wehby double to left field. Two batters later, Flynn scored Wehby with a single through the left side.
 
Holt led off with a single in the eighth and Justin Ware registered a one-out single in the ninth, but the Cardinals held the Colonels scoreless over the final two innings and escaped with the win.
 
Wehby finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run to pace the Nicholls offensive. Knauth hit 3-for-4 with a run and Holt went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
 
Eddy Gonzalez led Incarnate Word offensively with a 3-for-4 outing, three RBIs and a run scored.
 
Cole Stapler (2-5) took the loss, surrendering five runs (four earned) on eight hits through 4 2/3 innings.
 
John Shull (2-2) picked up the win, giving up three runs (one earned) on nine hits through six innings of work.
 
The Colonels and Cardinals will meet for the rubber match at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
 
Nicholls
Sunday: RHP Jake Smith (1-2, 7.64 ERA, 22 SO, 17.2 IP)
 
Incarnate Word
Sunday: RHP Cody Richey (0-2, 8.36 ERA, 7 SO, 14.0 IP)
 
Following this weekend's action the Colonels will travel to Baton Rouge for a date with Southern at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Nicholls will then host a three-game Southland series against Central Arkansas, beginning at 6 p.m. on April 15.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball, visit geauxcolonels.com.