Box Score THIBODAUX, La. – Nicholls State rallied for five runs in the sixth inning Saturday, defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 5-3, in a Southland Conference contest at Ray E. Didier Field.
Southeastern (28-20, 13-10 Southland) built a 2-0 lead through five innings and right-hander
Tate Scioneaux (6-5) had breezed through the Nicholls (26-22, 16-7 Southland) order, retiring the side in order three times before the sixth.
Sam Roberson drew a walk to lead off the second and moved to second on
Daniel Midyett's single up the middle.
Brett Hoffman hit a deep fly ball to left-center field, allowing both runners to tag and move up 90 feet.
Kennon Menard followed with an RBI ground out to second, driving home Roberson for a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, Midyett, Hoffman and Menard produced consecutive, two-out singles to boost the Lions' lead to 2-0.
Entering the sixth, Nicholls had just a pair of fourth-inning singles off Scioneaux. After retiring the first hitter on fly ball to left, six of the next seven batters produced hits off Scioneaux and
Matt Pittari. The big blow was a two-run triple by Colonel first baseman David Zorn, staking Nicholls to a 5-2 lead.
Southeastern shaved a run off the deficit in the seventh.
Kyle Cedotal reached on an infield single and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Advancing to third on a ground out, Cedotal scored on
Jacob Seward's single to right.
Grant Borne (7-2) picked up the win for the Colonels, tossing eight innings. Stuart Holmes earned his fourth save of the season, tossing a scoreless ninth. Scioneaux was tagged with the loss.
The series is now even at one game apiece. Nicholls maintains a share of first place in the Southland and Southeastern is tied for sixth with Lamar.
Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale is a Geaux Pink game. The Lions will wear special hats and staff from Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center will be on hand to raise breast cancer awareness.
Junior right-hander
Andro Cutura (7-2, 1.79) gains the starting pitching assignment for Southeastern and will be opposed by senior right-hander Brandon Jackson (3-1, 1.80) for the Colonels.
Fans will have a chance to enjoy the Raising Cane's Challenge at Sunday's contest. If the Lions score five or more runs in the game, fans presenting their ticket stub (or student coupon), and purchasing a combo at a participating Raising Cane's, will receive a free combo of equal or lesser value (through the following day).
Sunday's game is also Academy Family Sunday in the Park. Roomie's Kid Zone, sponsored by Academy Sports and Outdoors, will be open down the left-field line featuring family-friendly activities (weather pending).
The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online and either the KSLU or TuneIn Radio smartphone apps. Fans can keep up with the finale through live statistics or by following SLUathletics on Twitter. Streaming video is available on LionVision, Southeastern's subscription-based video stream. Links for tickets, audio, stats and video are available on the baseball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
Nicholls State 5, Southeastern La. 3 (May 3, 2014 at Thibodaux, La.)
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Southeastern La..... 010 100 100 - 3 10 1 (28-20, 13-10)
Nicholls State........ 000 005 00X - 5 10 3 (26-22, 16-7)
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Pitchers: Southeastern La. - Scioneaux, Tate; Pittari, Matt (6); Greenleaf, Jason (7) and Fisher, Jameson. Nicholls State - Borne, Grant; Holmes, Stuart (9) and Correa, Christian.
Win-Borne, Grant (7-2) Save-Holmes, Stuart (4) Loss-Scioneaux, Tate (6-5) T-2:15 A-692
Weather: 79, Mostly Sunny, 9 MPH SW
