Xane Washington - Nicholls Baseball
Erik Williams/Southland Conference
4
McNeese MCN 25-33
10
Winner Nicholls NICH 27-31
McNeese MCN
25-33
4
Final
10
Nicholls NICH
27-31
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
McNeese MCN 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 4 12 2
Nicholls NICH 1 1 1 0 0 2 1 4 X 10 12 0

W: Hatcher, Cayden (4-7) L: Ueckert, Cayne (4-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

No. 7 Colonels send No. 6 McNeese home on 10-4 victory at SLC Tournament

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SUGAR LAND, Texas – The Nicholls State University baseball team eliminated No. 6 McNeese State University from the 2018 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament by way of a 10-4 win Thursday at Constellation Field.

It was the first postseason triumph for the Red and Gray since 2011.

"[Our performance was] just really gritty and gutsy," Nicholls head coach Seth Thibodeaux said. "We were ready to go right off the bat and Cayden [Hatcher] set the tone for us. We were able to strike first with three runs in the first three innings of the game. We had some chances later on and delivered the blow."

The Colonels (27-31) will face No. 2 SLU in another elimination game at 9 a.m. Friday.

The two teams matched with 12 hits but the seventh-seeded Colonels grinded out six more runs.

The Colonels received eight strong innings from senior righty Cayden Hatcher (4-7), who allowed one earned run on eight hits and struck out five on a career-high 130 pitches.

Redshirt junior Brady Bell fronted the team offensively with three hits and three runs. Senior Joey Morales went 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Nicholls applied pressure early, plating a run in each of the first three innings. The first run scored on a grounder by senior Chet Niehaus and the latter two via sacrifice flies from sophomore Dillon Belle and Morales.

Following the Cowboys (25-33) first tally in the top of the fifth on a Joe Provenzano sac fly, Niehaus saved two additional runs with an incredible diving catch on a ball in deep left-center. The Colonels carried that momentum by putting up two runs in the sixth. A Kyle Knauth single and Lee Clark double put runners on second and third for freshman Xane Washington, who drove Knauth in on a sac fly. Belle then pulled a double down the right-field line that scored Clark to make it 5-1. Morales stroked an RBI single in the seventh and then capped a four-run eighth with a two-RBI single to put Nicholls ahead, 10-1. Senior Gage Teer also recorded a two-RBI single during the scoring barrage.  

McNeese left fielder Shane Selman belted a three-run homer in the ninth, but Jacob Bedevian needed just four pitches to get Dustin Duhon to ground into a game-ending double play. The Cowboys stranded 10 runners throughout the game.

McNeese starter Cayne Ueckert was handed the loss, surrendering five runs (four earned) on seven hits. Visit geauxcolonels.com and follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_BASE for the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball. Please click here for tickets and additional information on the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament.