Chase Gearing - Nicholls Baseball
Leighton Chamblee
6
Northwestern St. NSU 25-28
7
Winner Nicholls NICH 26-23
Northwestern St. NSU
25-28
6
Final
7
Nicholls NICH
26-23
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northwestern St. NSU 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 6 9 0
Nicholls NICH 2 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 X 7 11 0

W: Gearing, Chase (5-3) L: Carver, Cal (4-5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Colonels advance in SLC Tourney with 7-6 win over NSU

LAKE CHARLES, La. – A three-run fifth inning sparked a rally for the No. 4 Nicholls State University baseball team against No. 5 Northwestern State and after taking the lead in the next frame, Chase Gearing was able to hold off the Demons for a 7-6 victory in the opening game of the Lake Charles Bracket on Thursday afternoon at Joe Miller Ballpark.

With the game tied 5-5 in the sixth, Nicholls (26-23) led for the first time thanks to an Edgar Alvarez groundout and Parker Coddou hit an RBI triple in the seventh for what turned out to be the game-winning run. Gearing allowed a solo homer in the eighth and worked around a two-out double in the ninth for the Colonels' first postseason win since 2018. 

Dane Simon and Xane Washington fueled the offense from the No. 1 and 2 spots in the lineup, combining for six hits and four runs scored. After falling behind 5-2 in the fifth thanks to a mishap by the umpiring crew that led to the ejection of Colonel head coach Mike Silva, Washington blasted a towering homer in the bottom half to swing the momentum in the Colonels' favor. Austin Cain tied the game with a bases loaded hit-by-pitch.  

Alvarez, who pushed his reached base streak to 25 games, hit into a double play in the sixth but a run scored for a 6-5 advantage. Then in the seventh, Cain walked and scored on Coddou's triple to center field. 

Gearing sat down seven straight before Austin Kirkpatrick homered in the eighth for his second and the third Demon long ball of the day. After the two-out double in the ninth, Gearing issued a walk on four pitches to put two runners on base. But he got Bo Willis to groundout to Coddou at short for the final out of the game. 

Gearing (5-3) threw 4.2 innings out of the bullpen and struck out five. Devin Desandro lasted 4.1 innings in the start, allowing five earned runs on six hits. NSU took full advantage of the gusty winds with a pair of 2-run shots that carried over the wall in the first and second innings. 

Nicholls totaled 11 hits in the victory, with Jayden Kay and Garrett Felix each adding a single and an RBI. NSU's Cal Carver suffered the loss with seven earned runs and walked five. 
 
Nicholls will face No. 1 McNeese at 6 p.m. Friday.