Heckman’s strong mound effort earns Nicholls series split with Southeastern

A lethal outing from starter @nickheckman3 – 8.2 innings w/ two runs allowed – along the three-run jack from @ajcain21 proves enough to force a series split against rival SLU!

Next up, the Colonels head to Lake Charles for a key four-game set w/ McNeese.#dirtyred #makehistory pic.twitter.com/B8zkSpzzEm

— Nicholls Baseball (@Nicholls_BSB) May 9, 2021

THIBODAUX, La. – A four-run fifth inning was all Nicholls needed Sunday, defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 4-2, at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field to split the four-game Southland Conference series.

Southeastern (28-17, 20-12 SLC) fell into a three-way tie for first place in the conference standings with Abilene Christian (28-17, 19-11 SLC) and New Orleans (27-21, 22-14 SLC).

The league title and seedings will be based on a points system at season’s end. Wins are worth three points while canceled games count as one point. Currently, New Orleans has 66 points followed by SLU with 60 and ACU with 59.

The Lions and ACU have two four-game series remaining in Southland play. UNO has one such series left this upcoming weekend at Lamar.

The series finale remained scoreless into the fourth inning. Preston Faulkner started a two-out rally, pulling a single into left field. Colonel starting pitcher Nick Heckman (2-5) hit Rhett Rosevear with a pitch before coughing up back-to-back RBI singles to Gaby Cruz and Eli Johnson.

Nicholls broke through against Lion starting pitcher Will Kinzeler (4-3) in the fifth. A single, double and sacrifice fly cut the Southeastern lead in half. After issuing a walk, Kinzeler picked up a groundout. With two down, Colonel third baseman Austin Cain launched his second home run of the season to left field.

From the point forward, both pitching staffs returned to their stingy ways.

Heckman earned the win, tossing 8.2 innings. Joe Taylor recorded the final out, picking up his 10th save of the season. Kinzeler suffered the loss, allowing four runs in five innings pitched.

RADIO SHOW
The next episode of Inside Southeastern Baseball with Matt Riser, presented by Blackened Brew, will be broadcast Monday at 12 p.m. from the restaurant in downtown Hammond. Fans can listen to every show on KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive and via either the Lions Gameday Experience or TuneIn Radio apps. The one-hour show airs every Monday during the baseball season.

UP NEXT
Southeastern heads down the Texas gulf coast this coming weekend for a Southland Conference series at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Games are scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Saturday and a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.

The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader is slated to be a seven-inning contest. If the first game goes extra innings, the second game would then become a seven-inning affair.

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TICKET INFORMATION
Current Southeastern Louisiana season ticket holders have until close of business Monday to reserve their seats at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field for the entire tournament. After that date, all seats not reserved will be available to the general public.

Tickets can be reserved by contacting the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays.
The double-elimination tournament, scheduled for May 26-29 at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field, will feature the league’s top eight teams and concludes with a winner-take-all championship game May 29 at 6 p.m. CT. The winner of the tournament will receive the Southland’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

LIONS GAMEDAY EXPERIENCE APP
The Lions Gameday Experience app puts audio, stats, video, social media and more in the hands of fans. Those in attendance can also check in to earn reward points redeemable for Southeastern-related prizes. Available for both Android and iOS devices, it can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play or by following the link www.LionSports.net/App.

DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.

All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lions Baseball, follow @LionUpBaseball or @MattRiser17 on Twitter, @LionUpBaseball on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.