Nicholls performed a feat that it had not accomplished in the last two years under the leadership of head coach B.D. Parker, with a sweep of the Samford Bulldogs this weekend at Ray E. Didier field. With the three wins, Nicholls improved to 13-12 overall.
The Colonels completed the sweep on Saturday, by defeating the Bulldogs in doubleheader action with the scores of 6-2 and 8-3. In game one on Friday night, Nicholls beat Samford 6-3.
Game 1: Nicholls 7 Samford 4
In the first of the three-game tilt, Nicholls used four homeruns and a solid pitching performance by Ronald Gilchrist to cruise past the Bulldogs.
Participating in the home run derby for the Colonels were Rondon Anderson, Brad Dantonio and Kevin Larpenter. Anderson hit two homers, while Dantonio and Larpenter tallied the other two.
On the mound, Gilchrist got the job done, as he struck out seven batters in eight innings to notch his third victory of the season.
Although Nicholls took the win, it was Samford who jumped on the scoreboard first. In fact, the Bulldogs tallied their two runs in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead. The runs came on a Gilchrist wild pitch and an error.
Nicholls answered with single scores in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, and two more in the fifth to make it a 4-2 ball game. The Colonels third run came on a Larpenter homer, while the fourth run came on a Chuck Hickman RBI sacrifice fly, which scored Jason Wilkerson. Nicholls final three runs came in the later innings, as Anderson highlighted the scoring with two solo homers to give the Colonels a 6-2 advantage.
After scoring single runs in the top of the eighth and ninth to make it a 7-4 ball game, Nicholls closed the show in the ninth, as reliever Alex Velazquez came in to tally his fifth save of the season.
Game 2: Nicholls 6 Samford 2
In game two of the doubleheader, Nicholls found the perfect mix of pitching and offense to take a four-run, seven-inning win.
Leading the way on the mound for the Colonels was Zach Murray, as he pitched six innings, giving up five hits. With the win, Murray moved to 3-3 on the season.
Offensively, Anderson and Larpenter led the Colonels, as each recorded two hits to go along with one RBI.
Nicholls began the scoring in the first inning when Doug Gill hit an RBI single to make it a 1-0 ballgame. The third inning saw the Colonels tallying two more runs to take a 3-0 lead.
Later on with the score standing at 3-2 in Nicholls favor, the Colonels notched an additional run to make the score 4-2. Nicholls final two runs came on an Aaron McRae RBI sacrifice fly and a RBI single by Hickman.
Game 3: Nicholls 8 Samford 3
In the final match up between the two teams, the Colonels used a six-run eighth inning en route to posting a five-run victory.
Trailing 3-2 with two outs, Nicholls started to find their stroke against Bulldog starting pitcher, Derek Tharpe, in the eighth.
A walk and a pair of singles, one by McRae and the other by Wilkerson, helped to load the bases for Hickman, who reached on an error that scored Monte Mitchell to tie the game at 3-3. The final five runs came on an error, an RBI-single by Larpenter and a wild pitch.
Colonel pitcher, Seth Schornick, tallied his first win of the season to move to 1-2. Schornick gave up just one hit in four innings of relief.
The Colonels will return to action this weekend when they host Southland Conference opponent Southeastern Louisiana University in a three game series.
Friday’s game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday’s contests will start at 1 p.m.
