THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team left seven men on base against Stony Brook University in its season opener Friday night, contributing to a season-opening 6-5 defeat at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.

The Colonels (0-1) took a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning when Seawolves (1-0) starter Greg Marino made an errant throw on a two-out chopper to the mound. Junior infielder Ethan Valdez finished 3-4, producing the only two Nicholls hits in the final five innings.

SBU's Bobby Honeyman (2-for-4, 3 RBIs) doubled to right field in the sixth, scoring Dylan Resk to tie it at four. After a sacrifice fly allowed the Seawolves to regain the lead, Brandon Alama capped off the 3-run frame with a homer to right field.

The Colonels had the bases loaded in the eighth with one out but were only able to bring across one on a sacrifice fly by senior Lee Clark. Senior Cayden Hatcher, redshirt sophomore Austin Bollinger and freshman Cyle Clayton held SBU scoreless for the final three innings.

Seawolves relief pitcher Cole Creighton earned the win, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings. Aaron Pinto threw 1.2 innings with three strikeouts to record the save. Nicholls newcomer Jacob Bedevian was tagged with the loss.

The Colonels hope to respond on Saturday in a rematch against SBU. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Visit geauxcolonels.com and follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_BASE for the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball.