THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team received a quality start from junior
Jacob Bedevian to upset Sam Houston State University 4-3 in the finale Sunday at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.
"I told our guys this morning that there were going to be a lot of firsts today," Nicholls head coach Seth Thibodaux said. "Nothing but grit from our club all day long. I feel like we outcompeted them all day long and did some great things in some tough moments."
Bedevian earned his first win of the season, improving to 1-5. He allowed five hits and three earned runs and struck out three during a career-high 8.1 innings. Sophomore
Zach Autin pitched the ninth to record his first career save.
It marked the Colonels' (11-21, 5-7 SLC) first win over the Bearkats (23-8, 11-1 SLC) in Thibodaux since 2012. It was SHSU's first loss in the league this season. The Bearkats only runs came via homers from Blake Chisolm and Jordan Cannon.
Nicholls scored its first run in the first inning on a wild pitch. After going down 2-1 on Chisolm's homer, senior outfielder
Chet Niehaus countered with a two-run shot to right field, giving the Red and Gray some much-needed insurance.
Autin entered with one out and pinch runner Mac Odom on first base. Autin struck out Chisolm on a full-count fastball and Knauth threw out Odom trying to steal second to end the game.
The victory came after Nicholls dropped the first contest of the day 7-5. With the help of a Jaxxon Grisham grand slam, SHSU built a 5-0 advantage Saturday night before the game was called due to rain in the bottom of the third inning.
When the game resumed at 11 a.m. Sunday, Nicholls tallied two runs in the frame when senior catcher
Kyle Knauth reached on a fielder's choice and fellow senior
Gage Teer on a throwing error by third baseman Ben Haefner. Freshman
Xane Washington plated senior
Chet Niehaus in the fourth on a single through the left side as the Colonels cut it to two at 5-3.
The Bearkats responded with a run in the fifth and another in the seventh to go up 7-3. RBI doubles from
Lee Clark and
Ethan Valdez in the eighth and ninth, respectively, made it 7-5, but the Colonels were unable to complete the comeback bid.
Senior
Cayden Hatcher fell to 1-3 as he surrendered six earned runs on five hits in 4.1 innings. SHSU reliever Seth Ballew improved to 2-1, allowing just one earned run in six innings. Dakota Mills earned his seventh save of the season.
Nicholls concludes its six-game home stretch Tuesday and Wednesday against Alcorn. First pitch for both games is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Get your season or single-game tickets now by calling
985-448-4790 or visiting
nichollstickets.com. Please click
here for more information on joining the 2018 Nicholls Baseball Coaches Committee. Visit
geauxcolonels.com for the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter
@Nicholls_BASE.
