HAMMOND, La. - The Nicholls State University baseball team hit four home runs including a grand slam by
Xane Washington as the Colonels secured the series victory against Southeastern with an 11-4 win Saturday afternoon at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Washington's grand slam came in the third inning and
Alec Paz added a solo shot in the fifth for a 6-0 lead. Southeastern (8-15, 0-2 SLC) used two homers in the fifth and sixth innings to make it a two-run game, but Nicholls (12-9, 2-0 SLC) answered in the eighth with solo home runs by
Jaden Collura and
Basiel Williams. The Colonels added three more runs in the ninth to make the final.
Chase Gearing (3-1) earned in the win for the Red and Gray, allowing four earned runs on five hits in 6.1 innings. Gearing tossed five shutout frames before Evan Keller hit a solo home run in the sixth. Gearing left the game in the seventh after a three-run shot by Bryce Grizzaffi.
David Vial Jr. and
Devin Desandro pitched the rest of the game, allowing just a lone infield single.
The Colonels doubled up SLU in hits, 12-6, getting two-hit efforts by Washington, Paz, Williams and
Edgar Alvarez. Williams singled in the third and two others drew walks to set up Washington's grand slam off of Hunter O'Toole (1-3). Alvarez, Paz and
Hunter LeBlanc all had RBI singles in the ninth to finish off the scoring.
ON DECK
Nicholls will go for its first Southland series sweep since the four-game sweep of Stephen F. Austin to start the 2021 conference schedule.
