HAMMOND, La. — The No. 2 Nicholls State University baseball team finished off another perfect tournament run with a dominating performance against No. 5 McNeese in the SLC Championship game, as the offense racked up 16 hits while
Dylan Farley twirled a complete game, leading the Colonels to a second straight title with a 15-1 seven-inning victory Saturday night on Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
The title is the third for the Colonels since joining the Southland in 1992. Nicholls won in 1998 and in 2023, pushing its winning streak in the postseason tournament to eight games for back-to-back championships.
While Farley kept McNeese (32-27) scoreless the rest of the game after surrendering a first-inning home run, the Colonel offense came to life in the second when
Parker Coddou hit a three-run homer to put Nicholls ahead for good. Coddou homered twice in the game and was one of six Colonels to have a multi-hit day. Each player in the lineup recorded at least one hit.
Farley, making his first start since April 24, struck out six in the complete game victory. He allowed four hits and issued six free passes but ended up stranding a total of nine batters.
Nicholls extended the lead in the fourth when
Gerardo Villarreal doubled in the gap in right center, driving in
Edgar Alvarez and
Kaden Amundson. The Colonel catcher reached on an error before Alvarez notched his 21st double of the season to put runners in scoring position.
The Colonels broke the game open in the fifth with six runs, taking an 11-1 lead and putting the run-rule into play.
MaCrae Kendrick and
Narvin Booker Jr. started the scoring with RBI doubles down the opposite lines, then Amundson singled for an 8-1 advantage. Coddou then got a hold of a 1-2 pitch and sent it over the right-center wall.
Basiel Williams finished off the inning with an RBI single.
The defense also played a big role in the championship victory. With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Coddou made a running over-the-shoulder catch in shallow center. On the next pitch, Villarreal stifled a hard liner with a diving stop at third and beat the runner to the base, keeping the lead at 3-1.
McNeese loaded the bases again in the sixth thanks to two walks and an error, but Farley took matters into his own hands by striking out Braley Hollins to keep the 10-run cushion.
In the top of the seventh, Felix added to the lead with a two-run double, Kendrick followed with his own run-scoring double, and Booker Jr. plated the final run on a sacrifice fly.
Farley issued a two-out walk in the bottom half before
Drake Anderson fielded a grounder at second and fired to Alvarez to initiate the dog pile.
Villarreal led the offense with a 3-for-5 day while Coddou totaled five RBI. Felix, Anderson, Kendrick and Booker Jr. totaled two hits apiece.
For McNeese, Cooper Hext had the early solo home run while Chase Keeton had two hits. Four Cowboys saw time on the mound with Zach Voss suffering the setback after making his second start of the day.
Nicholls becomes the sixth repeat champion in the history of the Southland Tournament and the first since Sam Houston (2016-17). The 14-run deficit matched the largest in Southland Championship history, and the 15 runs is tied for the second most scored in a title game.
The Colonels await their regional drawing for the NCAA Baseball Championship which will be announced on the tournament's selection show Monday, May 27, at 11 a.m. on ESPN 2.
ALL-TOURNAMENT
Basiel Williams, OF - MVP
Edgar Alvarez, 1B
Parker Coddou, SS
Dylan Farley, P
Garrett Felix, OF
Gerardo Villarreal, 3B
Basiel Williams garnered MVP for his late-game heroics in the thrilling wins over host Southeastern. Williams tied the game in the ninth with a solo home run in Thursday's 10-inning victory. In Friday's 5-4 win, his RBI double tied the game in the seventh before he hit a walk-off homer in the ninth.
