Ethan Valdez EV3
Jared Shanklin
5
Nicholls NICH 9-17
11
Winner Arizona ARIZ 15-10
Nicholls NICH
9-17
5
Final
11
Arizona ARIZ
15-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Nicholls NICH 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 11 2
Arizona ARIZ 0 0 2 3 2 4 0 0 X 11 11 0

W: Guardado, J. (1-0) L: Bahlinger, Christian (1-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Colonels’ late lull results in 11-5 defeat to Arizona Friday

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Nicholls State University baseball team dropped an 11-5 decision to the University of Arizona Friday night at Hi Corbett Field.

The Colonels (9-17) led 4-0 after the first two and a half innings but were outscored 11-1 the rest of the way. The Wildcats (15-10) scored eight runs via three homers, two-run shots by Jacob Blas and Nick Quintana and a sixth-inning grand slam by Cameron Cannon.

Seniors Brady Bell, Lee Clark, Kyle Knauth and Ethan Valdez recorded two hits each. The Red and Gray matched the opposition with 11 hits but left 12 runners on base.  

Three singles followed by a Gage Teer sacrifice fly put Nicholls up 1-0 in the first frame. Senior infielder Valdez added another run in the inning on a bases-loaded walk.

After senior lefty Alex Ernestine breezed through the first two innings in 27 pitches, the Colonels scored two more in the top of the third on a two-RBI single by senior infielder Brady Bell.

A blemish in the bottom of the third by shortstop Joey Morales came back to haunt Ernestine as Blas crushed his first career homer over the scoreboard in left field. Arizona put up a three spot in the fourth on a Cesar Salazar double and back-to-back sacrifice flies to take its first lead of the game at 5-4.

Morales answered with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth, plating freshman outfielder Xane Washington, who walked to lead off the inning, to tie the game at five apiece.

Homers by Quintana and Blas would eventually secure the win as Nicholls failed to score in the final four innings and recorded just one hit, a single by Clark in the ninth.

Wildcats relief pitcher Jonathan Guardado (1-0) earned his first win of the season, holding the Colonels hitless for 2.2 innings. Nicholls relief pitcher Christian Bahlinger fell to 1-1, surrendering four runs in 2.2 innings while striking out two.

The Colonels hope to salvage the series Saturday as the two squads battle one last time at 1 p.m. (MT)/3 p.m. (CT).

Visit geauxcolonels.com and follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_BASE for the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball. Season tickets, six suite tickets per game at $20/ticket, 15- and 25-game flex packages and Coaches Committee passes are available for purchase. Contact the ticket office at 985-448-4790 or go to www.nichollstickets.com for more information.