HAMMOND, La. - A six-run first inning by the Nicholls State University baseball team fueled a series finale 10-7 victory over rival Southeastern on Sunday on Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Winners of four straight, Nicholls (13-9, 3-0 SLC) earned its first sweep of the Lions (8-16, 0-3 SLC) since 2002. The Colonels also started the 2021 Southland Conference campaign with a four-game sweep of Stephen F. Austin.
The Colonels continued to pound the Lion pitching on Sunday, racking up 15 hits which included four doubles and two home runs. The long balls came at a crucial point in the game after SLU homered twice in the fifth to trim the deficit to 7-5. But
Edgar Alvarez and
Alec Paz led off the sixth with back-to-back solo shots and it was more than enough to finish off the sweep.
Alvarez and
Xane Washington each finished with three hits while Paz,
Dane Simon and
Parker Coddou had two hits apiece. Paz totaled three RBIs, drawing a bases loaded walk in the first for the first run of the big inning, and then delivered an RBI double in the fourth for a 7-2 advantage.
Including Paz' walk, Nicholls scored the first three runs on free passes.
Hunter LeBlanc was hit by a pitch with the bags full before
Basiel Williams drew a walk for a 3-0 lead. The Colonels then doubled the lead on a Simon 2-run single, and another run scored on the play via a Lion error.
Nick Heckman (1-1) threw five innings for the victory, allowing five earned runs on four hits while striking out two. SLU scored two in the second inning before Tyler Finke and Preston Faulkner hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth that brought the score to 7-5.
Nico Saltaformaggio threw three shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit.
After the Colonels' back-to-back homers, Coddou drove in the final run for Nicholls in the eighth on a sacrifice fly. SLU's Faulkner drove in two in the ninth on a double but
Devin Desandro came in to pitch and recorded the final out for the save.
ON DECK
Nicholls will host former league member Lamar on Tuesday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was moved up a day due to inclement weather in the forecast.
