A combined no-hitter through the eighth inning led Nicholls baseball to a 16-0 win against Sacred Heart in the season opener at home on Friday night.
Reigning National Freshman Pitcher of the Year Jacob Mayers took the mound to start Nicholls’ season opener and delivered a two-strikeout no-hitter in his first inning.
The Nicholls batters were unable to capitalize with any runs after a short first inning, but after Mayers delivered a second no-hit inning the bats got started.
MaCrae Kendrick with the first to cross home plate for Nicholls followed by a Basiel Williams RBI that drove in Drake Anderson.
Head Coach Mike Silva said Mayers’ early performance helped to calm the batters and allowed them to focus on their at-bats.
“Jacob Mayers [set] the tone for us, the way he came out throwing the ball,” Silva said. “When he’s dialed in like that it’s gonna be tough [for batters]. I thought that helped our guys settle in.”
After Parker Coddou drove in runs three and four, first baseman Edgar Alvarez stepped up to the plate on his second plate appearance and hit the team’s first home run of the season on a three-run hit to extend the Nicholls lead to seven.
“The first [at bat] is always nerve-racking no matter who you are playing, but I was telling some of the guys I was going to try to be the first one to [hit a home run],” Alvarez said.
Devin Desandro came into the game in the fifth inning to relieve Mayers. Desandro struck out six batters and pitched a no-hitter as Nicholls increased its lead to its peak at 16-0.
“I just tried to go in there and do my job and pick up Jacob [Mayers,]” Desandro said. “[Mayers] pitched really well for four innings and I just wanted to go out there, compete and throw strikes.”
Dallis Moran replaced Desandro in the eighth inning and struck out all three batters he faced in the inning.
Moran had a chance at a no-hitter in the ninth inning but saw it escape as he gave up a hit to the first batter in the ninth.
Moran finished the game with a double play in the ninth, keeping the shutout.
“A ‘W’ is a ‘W’ and those are hard to come by, it’s hard to win a game at this level,” Silva said. “So anytime you get [wins] you appreciate them…but then you have to move on and there are still somethings that we didn’t do at a high level tonight that I’d like to see us improve on.”
Pitcher Jack Nelson takes the mound for Nicholls in game two against Sacred Heart on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Ray Didier Field.
