Box Score Box Score
HAMMOND – Austin Flores' two-out RBI single in the top of the eighth inning scored Blake Bergeron that snapped a 2-2 deadlock and Nicholls State pulled away with a four-run ninth to claim a 7-3 win over Southeastern Louisiana in a Southland Conference game on Friday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Seth Webster tossed his fourth complete game in his last five starts as Nicholls (22-23, 11-14 SLC) remained in an eighth-place tie with Lamar in the Southland Conference standings. The junior right-hander fanned five batters and did not allow a walk as he outdueled Southeastern's
Brandon Efferson in a battle of two of the league's top pitchers.
Flores, who went 3-for-5 at the plate, added an RBI single in the ninth inning in which the Colonels sent 10 men to the plate and scored three unearned runs off a pair of Southeastern errors.
Southeastern (31-17, 14-11 SLC) struck first as it scratched a pair of runs off Webster in the third to break a scoreless tie.
Cass Hargis and
Jonathan Pace each hit one-out singles before
Justin Boudreaux hit a sacrifice fly to right field and
Jeff Harkensee added an RBI double.
Webster (5-2), who scattered 11 hits in the complete-game effort, settled down from there allowing three singles over the next three innings before retiring the side in the seventh and eighth innings. Webster allowed a pinch-hit, two-out double by
Joe Sparacino that allowed
Michael Rutland to score from first, but the right-hander closed out the game as he eventually got Pace to fly out to center to end the game.
Nicholls chipped away at the lead despite a season-high 12 strikeouts from Efferson (8-3), who allowed three runs on 11 hits in 7.2 innings. Jeremy Hill hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning for the Colonels before tying the game in the fifth when Jason Dennis hit a one-out single, moved to third on a double by Philip Lyons and scored on Bear Comer's RBI ground out.
Bergeron, who went 2-for-4, hit a one-out single off Efferson in the eighth inning, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch after Scott Moseley struck out. Flores then lined a go-ahead single into center field which allowed Bergeron to score and give Nicholls a 3-2 lead.
Lyons led off the ninth inning with a ground rule double that landed just inside the left-field line before Comer reached on a sacrifice bunt and moved to second on a throwing error, which allowed pinch-runner Ray Eureste to score.
Chase Jaramillo added an RBI single before Flores and Kasey Culverson hit consecutive RBI singles that gave Nicholls a 7-2 lead.
Hargis led Southeastern at the plate going 3-for-5 to increase his school-record total to 285 hits.
Cody Gougler added a pair of hits for the Lions, who moved into a third-place tie with Sam Houston State – a 5-1 winner over Stephen F. Austin.
The series between the intrastate rivals will resume on Saturday in Thibodaux in a 3 p.m. start before returning for the finale in Hammond on Sunday at 1. Both games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.
Nicholls............ 000 110 014 - 7 16 0 (22-23, 11-14 SLC)
Southeastern La..... 002 000 001 - 3 11 2 (31-17, 14-11 SLC)
Webster and Dennis. Efferson, Greenleaf (8), Pittari (9), Hills (9) and Fisher. W – Webster (5-2). L – Efferson (8-3). E – Hebert (13), Greenleaf (2). DP - SLU 1. LOB - NICH 11, SLU 8. 2B – Comer (2), Lyons 2 (2), Harkensee (10), Sparacino (3). HR – Hill (1). SH – Comer (6), Pace (8). SF – Boudreaux (6). SB – Bergeron (8), Moseley (12), Boudreaux (13), Hebert (20). CS – Bergeron (3), Flores (2). T - 2:36. A – 1,153.
