THIBODAUX, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team dropped its Southland Conference series opener, 13-0, to Nicholls in seven innings Thursday at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.
 
Southeastern (35-14, 20-8 SLC) fell out of first place with the loss to the Colonels (17-30, 10-18 SLC).
 
The Lions' magic number is two. Any combination of two SLU wins and/or McNeese losses clinches a bracket host site for Southeastern. Two Southeastern wins will clinch a share of the Southland regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
 
Nicholls scored a pair of runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings off SLU starting pitcher Brennan Stuprich. The Colonels added seven more runs in the sixth off the bullpen.
 
Nunu Parache (4-1) earned the win for Nicholls, scattering two hits in seven shutout innings. He struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. Stuprich (9-4) suffered the loss, allowing six runs – all earned – in 5.0 innings pitched.
 
UP NEXT
The series continues Friday at 6 p.m. with a pitching matchup that features junior right-hander Lakin Polk (4-0, 2.01) for SLU. The junior from Ponchatoula, Louisiana will counter Colonel senior right-hander Alec Sparks (4-3, 3.43).
 
Fans can listen to game broadcasts of the Nicholls (16-30, 9-18 SLC) series in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 The Lion. In addition, an audio stream is available online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via the Lions Gameday Experience and MyTuner Radio apps. The MyTuner app is compatible with the Apple CarPlay software available in most late-model automobiles.
 
Live stats will be available in the Lions Gameday Experience app and online at www.LionSports.net. No television coverage is slated.
 
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 the 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.