HAMMOND, La. – Edgar Alvarez scored the eventual winning run on a wild pitch in the top of the 10^th inning, as Nicholls rallied past Southeastern Louisiana University for a 5-4 extra-inning victory in the final game of day two of the 2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Baseball Championship Thursday night at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
 
Southeastern (29-27) will look to stave off elimination when it faces New Orleans in a noon contest Friday. Nicholls (36-20) will await the winner Friday at 7 p.m.
 
Jude Hall once again led the way at the plate for SLU, forcing extra-innings with his third home run of the tournament and 12^th of his junior season. Hall's bomb was also the 84^th of the season by the Lions, setting a new single-season standard previously held by 1997 and 1998 Southeastern squads. Hall and Bailyn Sorensen each had two hits for SLU with Sorensen leading the way with two RBI.
 
On the mound, the Southeastern trio of Dakota Lee, Jackson Rodriguez and Lakin Polk held a high-powered Nicholls lineup to five hits and combined to strike out 12 Colonels. Four errors proved costly for the Lions despite the strong pitching effort.
 
After Nicholls hit a pair of home runs in the top of the second to take a 2-0 lead, SLU answered in the bottom half of the frame. Jake Haze and Hall set the table with back-to-back singles to open the inning, then scored one out later on a two-run single by Sorensen to knot the score at 2-2.
 
The Lions took their first lead in the third inning. Parker Coley led off the inning with a ground-rule double that Nicholls left fielder Garrett Felix lost in the lights and one-hopped the left field fence. Two outs later, Shea Thomas laced a single through the left side to plate Coley and give SLU a 3-2 lead.
 
Lee and Rodriguez made the lead hold up until the ninth, holding Nicholls hitless over the next six innings. However, Basiel Williams led off the final frame for the Colonels with a solo shot over the left field fence. A pair of Lion errors led to another Nicholls run and sent Southeastern in the bottom of the ninth trailing, 4-3.
 
Hall came up big to lead off the inning, hitting a 1-2 pitch from 2024 SLC Relief Pitcher of the Year Nico Saltaformaggio (7-4) over the left field fence to tie the score. Rhett Rosevear followed with a sharp single to left to put the potential winning run aboard, but Saltaformaggio retired Conner O'Neal and then induced an inning-ending double play to send the game to extra innings.
 
In the Nicholls half of the 10^th, walks to Alvarez and Williams sandwiched around a Cade Crosby bunt single loaded the bases with one out. Polk then uncorked a wild pitch that got past O'Neal, allowing Alvarez to score the go-ahead run.
 
Polk settled down, striking out Drake Anderson and MaCrae Kendrick to keep the deficit at one. Saltaformaggio answered the challenge, retiring SLU in order in the bottom of the 10^th to close out the win.
 
Thursday's action opened with Lamar eliminating Northwestern State, 12-5, followed by UNO rallying past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a 7-4 victory that ended the Islanders season. McNeese took down UIW, 6-2, in the game immediately preceding the SLU-Nicholls thriller.
 
Friday's action will open with a 9 a.m. elimination game between UIW and Lamar, followed by the SLU-UNO noon elimination matchup. McNeese will await the UIW-Lamar winner at 4 p.m. with Nicholls facing the Lions-Privateers winner at 7 p.m.
 
All of Friday's game will be televised on ESPN+ and Southeastern's games will be heard on 90.9 The Lion. Streaming audio of 90.9 The Lion broadcasts is available online, at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive or www.LionUpRadio.org, or through the following apps - Lions' Gameday, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio.
  
2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Baseball Championship
May 22-25, 2024 | Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field | Hammond, America
 
Wednesday, May 22
Game 1 – No. 5 McNeese 10, No. 4 Northwestern State 5
Game 2 – No. 8 UIW 6, No. 1 Lamar 3
Game 3 – No. 2 Nicholls 14, No. 7 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2 (7 Innings)
Game 4 – No. 6 Southeastern 10, No. 3 New Orleans 2
 
Thursday, May 23
Game 5 – Lamar 12, Northwestern State 5 (NSU eliminated)
Game 6 – New Orleans 7, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4 (AMCC eliminated)
Game 7 – McNeese 6, UIW 2
Game 8 – Nicholls 5, Southeastern 4 (10 Innings)
 
Friday, May 24
Game 9 – Lamar vs. UIW, 9 a.m. (Elimination game) | ESPN+
Game 10 – New Orleans vs. Southeastern, Noon (Elimination game) | ESPN+ | 90.9 The Lion
Game 11 – McNeese vs. Game 9 Winner, 4 p.m.  | ESPN+
Game 12 – Nicholls vs. Game 10 Winner, 7 p.m. | ESPN+
 
Saturday, May 25
Game 13 – Winner of Game 11 vs. Game 11 Loser (if necessary), TBD | ESPN+
Game 14 – Winner of Game 12 vs. Game 12 Loser (if necessary), TBD | ESPN+
Game 15 – Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 14 (if necessary), TBD | ESPN+
 
DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or by visiting www.LionUp.com.
  
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Southeastern Baseball social media accounts (@LionUpBaseball) on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay engaged with the program.
 
The latest updates are also available at www.LionSports.net and the Lions Gameday Experience app. Available for both Android and iOS devices, the Gameday app can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.