Nicholls baseball won four of last seven games

The Nicholls State University baseball team won four of its last seven games, including victories over the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, one win in a three-game series again Sam Houston State University and two wins against Alcorn State University.

GAME RECAPS
In their most recent victories over Alcorn State University, held at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field, the Colonels earned winning results of 13-6 and 18-0, this Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

In the first game, an explosive seventh inning for the Colonels allowed the offense to score eight runs, which sealed the victory. Previous to the seventh inning, the Colonels and the Braves stood at a 5-5 tie.

Senior pitcher Christian Bahlinger recorded the win in relief after tossing 2.2 innings, with four strikeouts. Adding to the Colonel victory was redshirt junior Brady Bell’s first career homerun.

In the second game, the Colonels scored an impressive 12 runs in the first inning. The Braves could not respond to the Colonel offensive effort, and after one run in both the second and third inning and four in the fourth, the Colonels secured an 18-0 victory in seven innings.

FIRE STARTER
Senior shortstop Joey Morales’s start in the Nicholls State vs. Sam Houston State University game last Saturday made him the program’s all-time record holder in games started. He was presented with a baseball signed by his teammates after the game.

Morales started in all 54 games as a freshman for the Colonels, and followed with a strong sophomore season where he started in all 56 games. His most recent season as a junior allowed him to lead the Southland Conference (SLC) with 169 assists, and, once again, started in all 56 games as a shortstop.

In a previous interview, Morales expressed his desire to improve on his final season as a senior with the Colonels.

“The goal for the team is to obviously get to the conference championship and win it; that’s the overall goal,” Morales said. “My goal is to push everyone to be the best they can be and to bring out the best in everyone.”

Morales also stands out as the sole Colonel to wear the jersey number 11, in remembrance of the late Nicholls great Darryl Hamilton.

In a previous interview, head coach Seth Thibodeaux said, “It is an amazing honor for him to wear that number. If you wear that number, it means you’re a pretty special guy.”

LOOKING FORWARD

The Colonels still have six more SLC opponents to face in the 2018 season, with the University of the Incarnate Word slated next on the schedule. The Colonels are set to face the Cardinals on the road in San Antonio, TX, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in a three-game series.