LAKE CHARLES, La. - Ethan Valdez and Brady Bell had three hits apiece for the Nicholls State University baseball team but a late rally came up just short in a 7-6 loss at McNeese Friday night in the Mardi Gras Classic.

The Colonels (6-3) dropped their second straight game after winning six in a row. They will take on Holy Cross in the classic on Saturday at 1 p.m.

McNeese (5-4) led 7-4 heading in the top of the eighth before the Colonels made it a one-run game after drawing four consecutive walks, two with the bases loaded. But a strikeout ended the threat and Nicholls could only muster a single by Bell in the ninth.

The Colonel bullpen was outstanding in the loss as four pitchers combined to throw 5.0 innings, allowing just three hits and an earned run. Tyler Theriot saw the most work in relief, striking out three in 1.2 innings. Trever Kilcrease (1-1) made the start, surrendering six earned runs on eight hits.

McNeese scored twice off of Kilcrease in the opening inning, using a pair of RBI singles for a 2-0 lead. In the top of the third, Nicholls tied it up on an Alec Paz sacrifice fly followed by a run-scoring triple from Austin France. But in the bottom half, the Cowboys used four hits to plate four to go back up, 6-2.

Adam Tarver cut the deficit in half in the fourth with a 2-run home run - the first of his career. He took an 0-1 pitch out of the park, driving in Bell who led off with a walk.

McNeese's lone run against the Colonel pen came in the sixth for a 7-4 lead.

In the eighth, Paz and Dillon Belle were credited with RBIs after drawing walks with the bags full for the final runs of the game.