Flowing energy filled Didier Field this past weekend as the Colonel baseball team took on Troy State for a three game opener. The Colonels took the win in all three games during the festive weekend. In the season opener on Friday night, the Colonels blasted five home runs to trample over Troy State with a 27-4 win in front of a crowd of 297. Senior Rondon Anderson led the Colonel victory with two home runs in one inning and four hits along with six RBI¡s for the night.
With the game knotted at three heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Colonels exploded for 24 runs in their final four turns at bat. Anderson led off the sixth with a home run followed by a grand slam by junior Jake Ritchie and Luke Muller clearing the bases for another point. The Colonels closed the scoring by pushing two runs across the plate in the eighth inning on a two-RBI single by junior Bryan James.
The next afternoon, the Colonels were back in action against the Trojans. The Colonels plundered the Trojans once again 4-2 before 358 spectators. The Colonels jumped ahead 3-0 after three innings and pitchers Mike Prejean and Chris Brantley did the rest to preserve the victory.
Senior catcher Monte Mitchell drove in Anderson for the game¡s first run in the opening game. In the next inning, Brad Dantonio¡s sacrifice fly to right field scored fellow teammate Ritchie. Nicholls State¡s third run was scored in its ensuing turn at the plate as Eron Morrow drove in Muller. The Trojans tried to answer back with two points at the top of the sixth, but the Colonels added another point by Morrow scored for the second time on an RBI by Chuck Hickman.
Prejean went the first five-plus innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out four. Brantley, who entered the game with runners on second and third, went the final four innings, allowing four hits and no earned runs, walking three and striking out two.
The next morning, the baseball atmosphere was surrounded by the festivities of the Mardi Gras parade that began in the parking lot of Guidry Stadium. The Colonels rained on the parade of the Trojans once again in the final game of the weekend 9-4 before a crowd of 258. Three players had two hits for Nicholls State with junior centerfielder Dantonio going for 2-for-4 with three RBI¡s.
After Troy State pushed a run across the plate in the top of the first, Nicholls State answered back with three runs in its half of the second as senior catcher Mitchell led off with a home run. Morrow and Ritchie came across the plate as well in the frame, as NSU banged out four hits and took advantage of a TSU error. Nicholls State added a pair of runs inning as Hickman hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Morrow, and Ritchie came plate ward on a wild pitch. After the Trojans scored once in the sixth, neither team put up any runs until the bottom of the eighth when the Colonels scored four times with Dantonio¡s three-RBI triple being the key shot.
Senior right-hander Phil Aragon went six innings in his first appearance in an NSU uniform to record the win. The Texas Tech transfer struck out three and walked one. Matt Overman went the final three innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs to pick up the save.
Nicholls State has the week off and will return to action on Friday, taking on Prairie View A&M in a doubleheader slated to begin in Prairie View, Texas at 1 p.m.
