BATON ROUGE, La. -- Powered by a heroic effort from freshman Parker Coddou, not to mention an elite showing out of virtually the entire bullpen, the Nicholls State University baseball program (2-5, 0-0 SLC) nearly managed to pull off a colossal upset of in-state powerhouse No. 11 LSU (8-1, 0-0 SEC) in Wednesday afternoon's non-conference rematch, watching as the Tigers required a ninth-inning sacrifice fly to eke out a 5-4 decision over the Colonels at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

Despite the Red & Gray enduring a 14-0 shutout at the same venue less than four days ago, Nicholls simply looked a completely different team as the "Johnny Wholestaff" approach on the mound combined with timely hitting kept the Colonels not just within striking distance of LSU, but rather in position to consistently challenge for control. Notably, the Red & Gray even carried a two-score advantage from the second to the fourth innings following Coddou's two-RBI double, and later rallied from down one run in both the eighth and ninth frames to force a response from the Tigers offense.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS
-- With the loss, the Colonels drop to a 2-5 record while No. 11 LSU locks up its sixth-consecutive win of the year, improving to 8-1 overall with a doubleheader victory over both Nicholls and Southern on Wednesday.
-- While senior Trever Kilcrease earned the start, tossing a competitive 2.0 frames with just one hit given up, the Red & Gray plan entering the contest revolved around utilizing a variety of the pitching staff's top talent. As such, the Tigers also saw -- coincidentally in class order -- freshman Devin Desandro, sophomore Tyler Theriot, junior David Vial Jr. and senior Colin Kramer over the ensuing four innings of action, surrendering six hits as a group with the middle two allowing three runs on a pair of solo homers along with an RBI double. Senior Beau Balado stepped in to cover the seventh, giving up one run on a sac fly, before junior closer Joe Taylor (0-2) took over for the final 1.2 innings, surrendering a walk-off sac fly as well on just one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
-- Offensively, Coddou shined in the second three-RBI game of his young career, initially granting the Colonels a lead on a two-run double midway through the second before knotting the contest at four apiece in the ninth on a soft shot into left field. Meanwhile, transfer Basiel Williams earned responsibility for the other Red & Gray score, knocking in former Tiger Wes Toups on a well-hit RBI single to center field, tying up the game at three apiece late in the eighth.

UP NEXT
Currently on a three-game slide, the Colonels aim to break the skid as they head out on the road for the first away series of the season, traveling north to Louisiana-Monroe for a full weekend set against the Warhawks, slated for Friday, Mar. 5 through Sunday, Mar. 7 in Monroe, La.

STAY SOCIAL
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