The Colonel baseball team looks to silence the critics after being picked to finish last in 2010 Southland Conference Baseball Preseason Polls.The Colonels found themselves at the bottom of the totem pole in both the head coaches’ and sports information directors’ polls.
While obtaining 17 points in both polls may not seem too bad, Texas State, which is picked to finish first in both polls, obtained 114 points in the coaches’ poll and 112 points in the sports information directors’ poll.
The Islanders of Texas A&M Corpus Christi found themselves in second-to-last place with 23 points in the coaches’ poll and 21 points in the sports information directors’ poll.
The schools ranked above the Colonels, and the Islanders mustered up at least 34 points or more in the coaches’ poll and at least 40 points in the sports information directors’ poll.
Despite the Colonels’ last place prediction, senior outfielder Scott Moseley found himself on the 2010 Preseason All-Southland Conference Second Team, the only Nicholls player on both the first and second teams. However, Moseley has a long road ahead for the season, recovering from a hip labrum surgery.
Even though the Colonels are predicted to finish last, the team was able to improve almost 100 percent when the team came up one game short of doubling their wins from the 2008 season in the 2009 season.
The Colonels were able to post 10 wins in the 2008 season; however, they pulled 19 wins in 2009.
The biggest win came in Baton Rouge, when the Colonels defeated the Tigers of Louisiana State University 3-1. The Tigers then went onto win the 2009 National Championship. The Colonels will take on the Tigers again this season on March 17.
The Colonels had a rocky start to their 2010 season when the Rajun Cajun’s of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette swept the three-game series this weekend.
In Friday’s season opener, the Colonels led the Cajuns until the eighth inning, when the Cajuns capitalized on a Colonel error and a hit-by-pitch to defeat the Colonels 6-2.
The Colonels did not see home plate until the ninth inning of Saturday’s game and were not able to catch up to the Cajuns who took the game 6-2.
An impressive home-plate steal from junior shortstop Chase Jaramillo was not enough to overcome the 10 runs the Cajuns scored on Sunday, ending the game 10-1.
“Up to the first eight innings of the Friday night game, we were playing really well. From that eighth inning until now, we’ve regressed,” head coach Chip Durham said. “It was disappointing to look up and see that the only run we had was a steal at home plate. You want to see your club get better each game. We know tomorrow is a different day, and we have to keep positive.”
The Colonels look to get their first win of the season this weekend when they host the 2010 Big Boy Classic presented by Hampton Inn. The Colonels will take on Bryant University Friday at 7 p.m., University of Tennessee-Martin Saturday at 7 p.m. and Houston Baptist Sunday at 2 p.m.
