THIBODAUX, La. - A home run by UIW broke a 2-all tie in the seventh as the Nicholls State University baseball team dropped the series finale against the Cardinals, 8-3, Saturday afternoon at Ben Meyer Diamond at Didier Field.
After a solo homer by
Austin Cain tied the game for the Colonels in the sixth, UIW answered with a 3-run shot by Ray Mendoza. The Cardinals then added three insurance runs in the ninth before Nicholls scored one to make the final.
Nicholls (18-16, 5-4 SLC) was doubled up in hits by the visiting Cardinals, 12-6. UIW (18-14, 6-3 SLC) had four hits off of Colonel starter
Jacob Mayers, including a solo homer in the first by Alec Carr.
Mayers lasted 5.0 innings and had eight strikeouts. He fanned the side in the first and second innings before adding his final two strikeouts in the third.
Trailing 1-0,
Edgar Alvarez tied the game up in the fifth with an RBI single up the middle. The rally was started with a two-out double by
Parker Coddou.
Mayers gave up a leadoff single in the sixth before leaving the game for
Tyler Theriot, but then a throwing error by catcher
Kaden Amundson allowed UIW to take a 2-1 lead. However, Cain quickly tied the score with a leadoff homer in the bottom half.
In the seventh,
Cade Evans took over on the mound in relief of
Nico Saltaformaggio with runners in scoring position and one out. Coddou made a heads up play at short on a grounder, tagging the runner heading to third while preventing the other from scoring. But with runners on the corners, Mendoza sent the first pitch he saw over the right field wall.
UIW then used four hits and a Colonel error to add three more runs in the ninth. Coddou added an RBI single for the Colonels with two outs before a groundout ended the game.
Saltaformaggio was charged with the loss, allowing two earned runs on one hit. For UIW, Isaiah Zavala earned the win while Micah Berens tossed the final three innings for the save.
ON DECK
The Colonels will host Southern University on Tuesday, April 11. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
