Nicholls baseball looks to bounce back against TSU

The Nicholls State University baseball team played McNeese State University over the weekend and lost three games on the road.

“McNeese was a tough team and they’re really hot right now,” senior catcher Alex Tucker said. “We take what we can out of each game, but we’re just looking to rebound this week and weekend.”

McNeese compiled 13 hits in the series opener on Friday and 12 in the game on Saturday, winning 9-2 and 12-3, respectively. The Colonels’ bats came to life on Sunday as they pounded out 14 hits, but still fell to McNeese 11-8.

“We need to go back to our foundation,” senior infielder Juan Givan said. “Baseball is a tough sport. There’s a lot of ups and downs, but you can’t get too high, and you can’t get too low in this game.”

In the eighth inning of Saturday’s game, Givan hit the first home run of his collegiate career, a solo shot to right field. Givan put his head down and ran after the hit, so he didn’t realize it was gone until he saw the umpire signaling it was a home as he rounded the bases.

“I knew the pitcher was going to throw a lot of fastballs, so I just sat on a pitch and put a good swing on it,” Givan said.

After the McNeese series, Nicholls plays six out of their next seven games at home at Ray E. Didier field, where they have a 10-3 record.

“We’ve got some great fans and they bring a great atmosphere,” Givan said. “We are used to practicing there every day. We’ve put in a lot of hard work there, so it’s pretty fun playing at home.”

Junior outfielder Gavin Wehby believes the team needs to learn from their mistakes and put the McNeese series behind them.

“There’s a lot of maturity in this group in that we know how our field plays, so we’re getting back to playing to our strengths,” Wehby said on playing at home. “We know that other teams have a tougher time preparing themselves, so we need to take advantage of being at home.”

Wehby, who had an RBI in every game against McNeese, said that with runners on bases, he tries to find a gap to bring them in. Wehby leads the team in RBI with 18 and extra base hits with six doubles.

“I’m looking for anything I can drive into the outfield,” Wehby said on his approach with runners in scoring position. “I’m looking for a good pitch to drive, but you can’t get anxious, so I just try to stay relaxed and know that the pressure is on the pitcher.”

The Colonels will host Texas Southern University for a three game weekend matchup at home, starting at 6 p.m. tomorrow night.