Nicholls closed out an overall disappointing road-trip by taking a 5-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State, Tuesday night in non-conference action. Keying the Colonel attack was pitcher Mike Prejean, as he went seven innings, giving up one hit, while striking out eight.
“The story of the game was Mike Prejean,” Colonel baseball coach, B.D. Parker, said. “He’s been outstanding his last three times out. He pitched well against Louisiana-Lafayette at home, and he pitched well at Wichita State, even though we lost.
“That (his performance) was big for us because we weren’t swinging the bats well.”
The Colonels struck for the first time in the top half of the opening frame to make it a 1-0 ballgame. After leading off the inning with a single, Brad Dantonio took second and third base on steals, before scoring on a Rondon Anderson RBI sacrifice fly to left field.
After tallying another run in the third to make the count 2-0, Nicholls notched two more runs in the seventh to take a four-run lead at 4-0.
One run scored on an error by the catcher, while the other run was scored on another Anderson RBI sacrifice fly, which brought in Larpenter, who reached base on a double earlier in the frame.
Nicholls tallied its last run in the ninth, as a Dantonio RBI single scored Clint Joffrion, who reached base on an error earlier in the inning.
The Colonels will host Southland Conference opponent Texas-Arlington for three games, beginning Saturday with a doubleheader.
The game is set to begin at 4 p.m., with the series concluding on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“After San Marcos (Southwest Texas) that magnifies these (conference) games even more,” Parker said of his squad, which sports a 22-22 overall record and includes a 9-9 mark in SLC action.
“We are still in a position where we can win the conference, depending on what happens this weekend, because everyone is bunched up.
“If we don’t take care of business this weekend, we will just be playing to get into the (SLC) tournament.”
Before its victory over Mississippi Valley State, Nicholls endured a tough road series which saw them dropping 6-of-8 games, including four conference losses.
Southwest Texas 14 Nicholls 10
In the first of a three-game tilt played on Apr. 13-14, Nicholls received the right amount of offense, but its pitching and defense fell short.
While Colonel fielders recorded three errors, pitcher, Ben Thompson notched the loss to move to 3-5 on the season.
In 4 2/3 innings of work, Thompson gave up 12 hits and 13 runs.
At the plate, Luke Muller, Doug Gill and Jason Wilkerson led the Colonels. The three players combined to record six hits while driving in six runs.
Southwest Texas 12 Nicholls 1
In the first of a doubleheader, Nicholls recorded just five hits and one run en route to losing by an 11-run count.
Colonel pitcher, Ronald Gilchrist took the loss, as he went four innings, giving up 11 hits and nine runs, while striking out one.
Southwest Texas 12 Nicholls 9
The final game of the series saw the Colonels taking an early lead, only to see the Bobcats rally to take a three-run victory.
At the plate, Eron Morrow led the way for the Colonels, as he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Colonel hurler, Seth Schornick tallied the loss, as he went 2 1/3 innings, giving up three hits and three runs with two strikeouts.
Wichita State 6 Nicholls 3
In the first of a two game set played on Apr. 11-12, Nicholls saw an early lead disappear, as the Shockers did just enough to take a three-run win.
Highlighting the contest for the Colonels was Anderson, as he recorded two hits and two RBIs.
One of Anderson’s hits was a homerun, which put him at 14 on the season, breaking Craig Coppola’s 18-year standing record of 13.
Colonel pitcher, Morrow tallied the loss, as he went two innings, giving up five hits and four runs, while striking out one.
Wichita State 9 Nicholls 8
In the final contest between the two teams, the Colonels tied the game in the top of the ninth only to see the Shockers posting a run in the bottom half of the frame to take a one-run win.
The decisive run came on an Eric Absher RBI double, which scored Joe Strada to give the Shockers the victory.
Colonel reliever, Alex Velazquez was saddled with the loss to move to 3-2 on the season. For the game, Velazquez gave up a hit and a run in 2/3 innings pitched.
Leading the way at the plate for the Colonels was Muller, Wilkerson and Monte Mitchell. The three players combined to record six of the Colonels nine hits, while driving in three of their runs.
Nicholls 11 Louisiana-Monroe 4
The Colonels opened their road trip on Apr. 5 with a seven-run victory over ULM.
Nicholls pitcher, Thompson tallied the win to move to 3-4 on the season. Thompson threw a complete game, giving up 10 hits, while striking out eight.
Leading the way at the plate was Wilkerson, as he went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs.
Nicholls 3 Louisiana-Monroe 2
After posting a seven-run victory in a slugfest the previous day, Nicholls won a pitchers duel en route to upending the Indians by a lone-run.
The winning run came in the top half of the eighth, when Morrow hit an RBI single to score Anderson.
Gilchrist recorded the victory, as he pitched seven innings, giving up eight hits, while striking out three. With the win, Gilchrist improved to 6-2.
Wilkerson led all bats with two hits and two RBIs
Louisiana-Monroe 12 Nicholls 7
In the final contest of a three-game set, Nicholls fell to its host by a five-run count.
The key stat for the Indians was their 19 hits versus Nicholls, who recorded just 10.
Colonel pitcher, Zach Murray tallied the loss to move to 3-1 on the season. Murray saw 3 2/3 innings of action and surrendered 10 hits and six runs, while striking out one.
Leading the way for the Colonels at the plate was Wilkerson, as he tallied two hit to go along with two RBIs.
