CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Nicholls State University baseball team chipped away at an early four-run deficit against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but the comeback attempt fell short as Nicholls dropped a 5-4 contest Saturday afternoon at Chapman Field.
Trailing 5-3 in the ninth, Nicholls (24-19, 11-9 SLC) put runners on the corners with one out.
Garrett Felix drove in a run on a groundout before the Islanders (24-24, 8-12 SLC) got a strikeout to secure the series victory.
The Colonels totaled seven hits, getting two each from
Xane Washington and
Alec Paz. Nicholls also drew four walks -- two by Felix -- but had trouble producing runs again with 11 left on base.
Tyler Theriot (7-3) allowed a season-high 10 hits in 6.0 innings, including three for extra bases, and was tagged for five earned runs -- another season high. He struck out four and walked three as he suffered his first loss in over a month.
Brendan Ryan nearly hit for the cycle for the Islanders, collecting three hits but did not have a single. His one-out double sparked a two-run second inning and then with AMCC leading 4-1 in the fourth, hit a solo homer off of Theriot.
After scoring on a Felix sac fly in the fourth, Nicholls added its second run of the game in the fifth thanks to an Islander error.
In the seventh,
Jayden Kay singled to drive home
Alec Paz to make it 5-3.
The Colonels' final run in the ninth was set up by an
Edgar Alvarez walk and Paz' second base hit. But Henry Bird finished off a two-inning save with two strikeouts in the ninth.
Zach Garcia earned the victory with six strikeouts and two unearned runs in 5.1 innings.
SOUTHLAND OUTLOOK
Nicholls, HBU, and McNeese were tied for first in the standings and each lost again on Saturday. With wins by Northwestern State and Southeastern, there is now a five-way tie for first place with four games remaining. The Southland Conference Tournament begins May 19 with the top two seeds hosting a pair of four-team tournaments.
ON DECK
The Colonels will seek to avoid their first sweep of the season with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.