Box Score and Play-by-Play

BATON ROUGE - The Nicholls State University baseball team (20-21) struck first, but the Colonels were no match for the Tigers as LSU (25-17) scored eight times in the first two innings, handing Nicholls a 12-3 loss in the Colonels' non-conference finale at Alex Box Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Colonels jumped out to a 1-0 lead as senior center fielder Bear Comer started the game by drawing a leadoff walk, stealing second and advancing to third as the throw by LSU catcher Jackson Slaid went into center field.  Senior shortstop Chase Jaramillo's RBI groundout brought Comer home and gave the Colonels the 1-0 lead.

However, LSU immediately answered by stringing together a walk and four hits, including a two-run double by Tyler Hanover and a two-run homer by Alex Edward, to take a 5-1 lead.  LSU added three more in the second to increase its lead to 8-1. 

Junior left handed pitcher Brad Delatte, who came on in relief in the bottom of the second and allowed a run in his first inning of work, soon settled in.  Delatte held the Tigers scoreless in the third, fourth and fifth innings as part of a 4.2 IP relief outing.

With Delatte keeping LSU off the board, the Colonels tried to mount a comeback as junior first baseman Blake Bergeron drilled an RBI double scoring Jaramillo to make it 8-2 after three innings.  The Colonels threatened again in the sixth, as an RBI single by senior catcher Jason Dennis scored senior left fielder Kasey Culverson to make it 8-3 and chase LSU starter Ryan Eades from the game.

However, that would be all the Colonels could muster as four LSU relievers combined to keep the Colonels off the board the rest of the way.  Meanwhile, the Tiger lineup extended its lead with a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh for the 12-3 final.

With the non-conference season over, Nicholls will now turn its attention to the Southland Conference Tournament race.  Nicholls will return to action with a three-game series against Texas-San Antonio in Thibodaux beginning on Friday with a 6 p.m. first pitch at Ray E. Didier Field.

Nicholls begins the week in a four-way tie for seventh place in the race for one of eight Southland Conference Tournament spots.  Should the Colonels qualify for the conference tournament, it will mark the first time in school history that the Nicholls program has qualified for consecutive Southland Conference Tournament appearances.