The Nicholls State University baseball team got back to work Monday night with an 8-6 victory after an eight-day break and will return to conference play this weekend on the road against McNeese State University.

The Colonels had an early 4-0 lead over the Spring Hill College Badgers in the first few innings and found themselves trailing by a run in the top of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Nicholls answered with three runs and gave the Colonels a secure lead. Senior relieve pitcher Stuart Holmes closed the ninth with three strikes, sealing the victory. Head Coach Seth Thibodeaux said the team got a lot out of playing in the added game Monday night.

“We were swinging the bats really well, and I like our approach that we took. We played really good baseball for the first four or five innings, then we relaxed a little bit and let our opponent get right back in the game. We finished the 7th, 8th and 9th inning the way we were supposed to and did some great things on the mound,” Thibodeaux said. “There were so many things we got out of Monday night since we didn’t see the field for eight days. It was important for us to get up to the speed of the game, and we did a great job finishing that game.”

Senior outfielder Darius Knight said one thing he saw from his teammates Monday night was determination.

“I saw a lot of determination and will to win from my teammates. We have been out for eight days, and we wanted to show that we can win play off of a break. We just wanted to come out, get after it and play our type of baseball,” Knight said.

This weekend, the Colonels will face a Cowboys team that is 12-9 in Southland Conference play. McNeese will be coming off a series sweep against Southeastern Louisiana University. However, junior infielder Kyle Reese said they will have to bring serious momentum to the field in Lake Charles.
“McNeese is a good team, and we are going to have to play our style of baseball. We need to bring some serious momentum to the McNeese series and that will be huge for us,” Reese said. “We will have to come out, get ahead early and play to the finish.”

Thibodeaux said one goal the Colonels need to make is winning game one of the series.

“We are not anywhere near where we need to be as a team because we still have to get better in game one of a series. We only won Friday night games three times this year, but on the flip side of that, we won seven or eight Sunday games,” Thibodeaux said. “I like that we do well on Sundays because it’s hard to show up on those days. We are always there, but we still have not figured out how to win that Friday night battle.”

How the Colonels play this weekend will be determined by preparation this week and Thibodeaux believes that pitching and defensive play need to be strong this weekend.

“Our preparation, focus and playing the right way will determine how we play this weekend. McNeese is a good club, and they are good at their place. For us to win a conference championship, we have to go on the road and win some games. So, I want to see our defense and pitching stay strong,” Thibodeaux said. “I know we are going to swing the bats well, but ultimately pitching and defense wins for you. I really expect our club to go to Lake Charles this weekend and stay focused.”