Alvarez’s 9th inning blast gives Nicholls comeback win at UIW

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Senior infielder Edgar Alvarez hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to secure the Nicholls State University baseball team’s 7-6 victory over UIW on Sullivan Field on Saturday afternoon.

After three scoreless innings, the Colonels trailed 6-4 going into the final frame. In the opening at bat, Brayden Kuriger pinch hit and reached on an error before Kaden Amundson was hit by a pitch. Alvarez dug in with one down and blasted a shot to dead center for his 10th homer of the season to put Nicholls on top.

In the home half of the stanza, Nico Saltaformaggio, who took over in the second inning, shut the door. The relief pitcher earned his fourth victory of the season after allowing four hits, one run, and tallying eight strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work.

Garrett Felix laced a solo home run in the second inning to give the Colonels a brief 1-0 lead. The Cardinals responded by plating five runs on a sacrifice fly, single, and three RBI double off of starting pitcher Jack Nelson.

The teams traded runs in the fourth frame as Drake Anderson brought Felix home with a base knock and UIW’s Dalton Beck hit a solo home run to make the score 6-2. The Colonels picked up two runs in the fifth on back-to-back groundouts by Alvarez and Gerardo Villarreal.

The Colonels tallied 11 hits. Parker Coddou and Felix finished with three apiece, Basiel Williams added two, while Alvarez, Anderson, and Amundson each had one.

For UIW, starting pitcher Isaiah Zavala went seven full frames and allowed nine hits and four runs while relief pitcher Dave Johnson picked up his third loss after allowing two hits and three runs in two full innings.

ON DECK
The series finale will be on Sunday, May 5 at 3 p.m.