ABILENE, Texas -- The Nicholls State University baseball program dropped both games of Friday's doubleheader against Abilene Christian (26-26, 13-17 Southland), allowing the Wildcats to complete the series sweep at Crutcher Scott Field in Abilene, Texas. With the pair of losses, the Colonels fall out of contention for a Southland Conference Tournament berth, officially ending their season with a 27-28 overall record (13-17 Southland).

The twin bill kicked off with a pitcher's duel in the early afternoon, as the Red & Gray's Jacob Bedevian (9.0 innings) battled ACU's Spencer Chirpich (7.2 innings) for nearly the entirety of regulation. Despite the Wildcats jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first frame, the former held off any offensive push while the Nicholls bats worked to grab a lead, eventually finding some traction late in the eighth.

Following an Austin France leadoff single, Dillon Belle jolted the Colonels to their first advantage of the day, crushing a pitch over the right-field wall for the 2-1 edge. Notably, the junior managed to drive his home run into the ACU bullpen despite facing a strong wind coming in directly from right field. Bedevian remained on the mound as he aimed to clinch his second consecutive complete game, working through five batters before a wild pitch allowed ACU to knot the score at 2-2, forcing extra innings. 

The action faded until the 13th frame, where the Red & Gray found life off the bat of Alec Paz; the junior yanked a two-out double into the left-center gap, allowing both Ethan Valdez and Brady Bell (back-to-back singles) to cross home plate for a 4-2 edge. Abilene Christian managed to respond en force in the bottom of the inning, though, tacking on one off an RBI walk before a bases-loaded single plated two for the walk-off win, 5-4. 

On the mound, the Colonels utilized five relievers after Bedevian took a seat to open the 10th. Nick Heckman gave up one run on as many hits before Beau Balado (1-5) entered to absorb the loss in the 13th, surrendering two runs on just one hit with two walks. 

The latter half of the doubleheader saw the Wildcats surge to an early lead they would never surrender, picking up two runs in the second and another four in the sixth. Meanwhile, the Colonels fought consistently to keep the rally possible throughout, cutting the game as close as one run in the fifth off a Valdez fielder's choice. A Dillon Belle RBI walk in the seventh tacked on the second run for the Colonels, but the ACU bullpen managed to hold off any further offense as the pitching staff sealed the 6-2 victory. 

Parker White (4-4) picked up the start in his final game with the Red & Gray, taking the loss as he worked through 4.0 innings on the mound with two runs allowed on three hits. Shane Mejia served in primary relief, tossing 1.1 frames with two runs given up on as many hits, while fellow freshman Tyler Theriot closed out the final 2.1 innings with no runs surrendered on just two hits. 

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