Box Score Box Score
HAMMOND – Jonathan Pace and
Cass Hargis each went 4-for-4 at the plate,
Cody Gougler went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and Southeastern Louisiana used an 11-run fourth inning as it defeated Nicholls State, 15-4, in a seven-inning Southland Conference game Sunday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Justin Boudreaux and
Jeff Harkensee each homered as Southeastern (32-18, 15-12 SLC) recorded season-highs with 18 hits and four home runs to avoid a three-game sweep against archrival Nicholls (23-24, 12-15 SLC).
Southeastern sent 15 men to the plate in the fourth inning as it turned a 2-1 lead into a 13-1 contest as it matched its biggest inning since an 11-run fourth inning against Lamar in the 2008 Southland Conference Tournament.
Hargis, who drove in two runs and scored twice, hit a one-out double off Nicholls starter Mike Wisecarver (4-4) into the left-field corner before scoring on an RBI single by
Michael Rutland.
Gougler, who led off the third inning with a home run, greeted Colonel reliever Dalton Torres with a two-run homer to left center before Pace followed three batters later with an RBI single that scored
Jacob Fisher and gave Southeastern a 6-1 lead.
Boudreaux, who drove in four runs, belted the first pitch from Dylan Delaune over the left-field fence for a three-run homer and Harkensee followed two batters later with a two-run blast to right for an 11-1 lead.
Gougler added an RBI double that scored Hargis and Fisher followed with an RBI double before Brian Arceneaux got Hebert to fly out to end the inning.
Nicholls, which scored 18 runs in its first two games against the Lions, took a 1-0 lead in the first when Chase Jaramillo hit a one-out single, stole second and scored on Jeremy Hill's RBI single up the middle.
The Lions answered with a run in the bottom of the first as Pace hit a double off the wall in left field and scored when Boudreaux followed with a single.
Gougler gave the Lions the lead for good in the third when he homered to left field to lead off the inning. Hargis, who increased his school record for hits to 291, added a two-run single in the fifth after Boudreaux and
Josh Cryer were each hit by pitches.
Josh Janway (5-2) pitched five solid innings for Southeastern as he allowed two hits and struck out three. Wisecarver took the loss for the Colonels after allowing four runs on six hits in 3.1 innings.
Hill went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs for Nicholls, which fell into an eighth-place tie with McNeese State with six games remaining.
Southeastern will return to action beginning Friday when it faces Stephen F. Austin in its final home series of the year. The series begins at 6 p.m. on Friday before resuming on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1. All three games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.
Fans attending Saturday's game are asked to make donations to the Tripp Roth Fund. Tripp Roth, the two-year-old son of former Lion Randy Roth, suffers from the genetic skin condition known as Epidermolysis Bullosa, or E.B.
Since the slightest touch or friction can cause severe skin reactions and blisters, Tripp is continuously covered in ointment and wrapped in thick bandages. He requires oxygen and a feeding tube, and while insurance covers much of his medical costs, significant expenses mount up on over-the-counter medications, special fleece-lined diapers and other supplies.
Tickets are available by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or on-line at www.LionSports.net.
Nicholls............ 100 0 03 0 - 4 6 1 (23-24, 12-15 SLC)
Southeastern La..... 101 (11)20 x - 15 18 0 (32-18, 15-12 SLC)
Wisecarver, Torres (4), Delaune (4), Arceneaux (4), Poche (6) and Dennis. Janway, Lopez (6) and Fisher. W – Janway (5-2). L – Wisecarver (4-4). E – Jaramillo (14). DP - NICH 3, SLU 1. LOB - NICH 1, SLU 6. 2B – Pace (13), Hargis 2 (11), Gougler (12), Fisher (3). HR – Boudreaux (8), Harkensee (10), Gougler 2 (3). HBP - Dennis, Boudreaux, Cryer. SH – Hebert (4). SB – Jaramillo (13). CS – Flores (3). T - 1:59. A - 778.
