Late Nunex rally falls short as Delgado takes tourney title

NEW ORLEANS – Dolphins reliever Blaise Lalonde stymied the Pelican offense over the middle innings, and Delgado Community College held off Nunez Community College in the championship round to win the NJCAA Division I Region 23 conference tournament title by a score of 9-7 Saturday afternoon at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium.

The Pelicans scored the game’s first 3 runs and last 3 runs, but in between the Dolphins were plating 9 runs to just one for the Pels. Nunez actually outhit (12 to 8) and outslugged (14 total bases to 8) the Dolphins in the contest, but the outcome eventually came down to mound control, as the Dolphin hurlers issued just 7 free passes (3W, 4HBP) over the nine innings, compared to 14 (11W, 3HBP) given up by the Pelican mound staff. And the host school took full advantage.

Nunez was designated as the home team for this tournament game, and scored their first three runs in the bottom of the first. With one out, Ben Harris beat out an infield single, and after a walk and force-out at second, Jayce LaCava doubled off the left field wall to plate one, with the next pair scoring on Evan Rohlf’s pop single into short left-center.

DCC tied it with 3 in the third on a walk, 2 singles, a hit batter, and Logan O’Neill’s sacrifice fly.

But the Pelicans took the lead right back at 4-3 in the bottom half as Harris walked, stole second, and scored on LaCava’s 2-out line single to right.

The Dolphins then grabbed the lead for good in the top of the fourth with 2 runs without a hit on 3 walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a balk, and then added one more in the fifth on another hit-batter, a single, and a sac fly from Casey Artigues .

Now up 6-4, Delgado plated their final 3 runs in the seventh on 2 singles, 4 walks, and Jackson Walker’s sacrifice fly.

Then, after going scoreless for the previous 4 innings, the Pels finally broke out with their final 3 in the bottom of the eighth, all coming after 2 were out. A single by James Bendeck and double by Dorien Jackson to deep center plated one, and then after Harris was plunked, the final 2 runs came home on singles by Noah Detillier and Colin Cure. That brought the tying run to the plate, but the inning ended on a fly-out to right.

The Pels eventually got the winning run to the plate with one out in the ninth as John was hit by pitch and Cohen Veron singled into left. But the game then ended on a nicely-executed 463 twin-killing by the Dolphin middle infield.

For Delgado Lalonde was credited with the win after going 3.1 innings and yielding just 2 hits while striking out 5, with Rummel’s Brady Schmidt recording the save, despite entering in the seventh with a 5-run lead, by pitching effectively for 3 innings in a closing role.

Hahnville’s Landon Cortez started for Nunez and was followed on the hill by Rummel’s Ira Austin and Walker’s Owen Forbes, with each pitching 3 innings.

All players in the Pelican batting order got at least one hit, with no one on either side registering more than two. Harris for Nunez and Giovanni Licciardi for Delgado each scored 3 runs in the game.

Score By innings – Fri 5/03
Delgado – 003 210 300 – 9 8 0
Nunez – 301 000 030 – 7 12 2
Achee, Lalonde (3), Schmidt (7) and Eames.
Cortez, Austin (4), Forbes (7) and Rohlfs.
W – Lalonde. L – Cortez. S – Schmidt.
2B – LaCava, Jackson.
SF – O’Neill, Artigues, Walker.

ALL-REGION TEAM

Nunez had 4 players selected to the 2024 All-Region 23 Team: infielder Ben Harris, outfielders Dorien Jackson and Noah Detillier, and catcher-first baseman Colin Cure was selected as a utility player.

NEXT UP:

Both Nunez and Delgado will now head to Oxford, AL to participate in the NJCAA South Regional that begins this Thursday, May 9. The Pelicans will play a first round game at 1PM and the Dolphins at 4PM.

Opponents, seeding, and brackets with be finalized this weekend. Check back here for updates on the regional.