Nicholls beats UNO to clinch program’s first ever Southland baseball title

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Privateers hit two early home runs but fell behind in the third inning and could not recover in a 10-4 loss against the Nicholls Colonels on Friday evening at Maestri Field.

The win gives Nicholls their first ever regular season Southland championship.

DECISIONS
Chase Gearing got the win after holding the Privateers scoreless through 3.1 innings with three strikeouts. Caleb Seroski took his first loss of the season (3-1).

New Orleans (32-22, 12-11) got two early homers off starter, Jacob Mayers and chased him from the game after just two innings. The Privateers led 2-1 and the first two batters were retired in the third inning. Back-to-back singles kept the frame alive and Austin Cain homered to left to give the Colonels a 4-2 advantage.

Nicholls (30-21, 15-8) scored two in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-2. However, the bullpen kept the Colonel offense quiet for four innings after that.

Meanwhile, the Privateers got two runs back in the fifth on an RBI single by Mitchell Sanford and an RBI hit-by-pitch taken by Anthony Herron Jr. Then Jeissy De la Cruz hit a line drive but it was caught by Cain to keep the Colonels ahead.

From there, Gearing retired nine of the next 11 batters. Herron led off the eighth with a double and there were two hard hit balls including a fly out by Issac Williams that landed just shy of the wall in left.

Nicholls got some distance on the lead with a four-run ninth inning. Xane Washington doubled in a run, Gerardo Villareal delivered an RBI single and Garrett Felix snuck one through for a two-run single to open the Colonel lead to six.

Jose Cabrera threw two scoreless innings while Trey Usey, Canaan Clayton, and Nolan Daniel each threw a scoreless inning.

The Privateers are now in a five-way tie for third place in the win column in the Southland standings with Northwestern State, A&M-Corpus Christi, McNeese and Lamar heading into the final day.

Tristan Moore hit his 19th home run of the season. Miguel Useche also homered. Tyler Bischke went 2-for-5 and Herron finished 2-for-2. Williams was 1-for-3 with a run scored.

Villareal led the Colonels with three hits while Washington, Cain and MaCrae Kendrick each had two hits.

NEXT UP
The Privateers will host the Colonels in the regular season finale at 2 p.m. on Saturday with Senior Day festivities to precede the game.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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