Nicholls takes down Northwestern State to open conference series

THIBODAUX – Both halves of the fifth inning told the tale for the Northwestern State baseball team in Thursday night’s Southland Conference series opener at Nicholls.

Both the Demons and Colonels loaded the bases with less than two outs. However, Nicholls took better advantage of its opportunity.

The Colonels scored three fifth-inning runs after starting pitcher Devin Desandro kept the Demons off the board, putting in motion an 8-2 Nicholls win at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.

“I thought we got out-competed tonight,” sixth-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. “It’s as simple as that. Their guy (Desandro) didn’t have his best stuff, but he competed really hard. Cal (Carver) was the same way — didn’t have his best stuff but competed hard. We’ve just got to get hits with men on base.”

The Demons (15-17, 5-5) loaded the bases with one out in the pivotal fifth inning after Jake Haze’s leadoff single, a Cam Sibley one-out single and Gray Rowlett’s one-out walk.

Desandro (2-2) responded by retiring Gabe Colaianni and Daunte Stuart to keep the game scoreless, allowing the Colonels (18-13, 6-4) to respond.

Austin Cain’s leadoff single started a run of four straight hits for the Colonels off Carver (3-4), including a pair of bunt singles that loaded the bases and set up a run-scoring wild pitch and Xane Washington’s two-run single.

“They got bunts down and got the big hit,” Barbier said. “We didn’t do that.”

Carver escaped further damage by inducing an inning-ending double play, and Northwestern State responded by again pressuring Desandro with Bo Willis’ one-out single.

Desandro capped his night by striking out the next two Demons, finishing an effectively wild six shutout innings. The Demons put eight runners on against Desandro – four walks and four hits – but could not convert.

“They moved the ball, and we punched out 11 times against their two,” Barbier said. “That’s nine more chances for them to get a hit. Give them credit. They did a good job competing hard on the mound and putting the ball in play. We’ve just got to play better.”

Carver danced around 10 hits in six innings, holding the Colonels to just the three runs they scored in the fifth, allowing Stuart to pull the Demons within one on Stuart’s

Nicholls put the game out of reach with a five-run eighth inning, taking advantage of three Demon walks and a hit batter. Chase Gearing collected the final seven outs, notching his first save of the season.

The series continues at 6 p.m. Friday. Right-hander Johnathan Harmon (4-3, 3.17) takes the mound for the Demons against Nicholls left-hander Tyler Theriot (4-2, 2.53).

Nicholls 8, Northwestern State 2
NSU 000 000 200 – 2 7 1
Nicholls 000 030 05x – 8 12 0
W – Devin Desandro (2-2). L – Cal Carver (3-4). S – Chase Gearing (1). HR – NSU, Daunte Stuart (3). Highlights: NSU, Bo Willis 2-2. NICH, Dane Simon 2-5, RBI; Edgar Alvarez 2-5, 2 RBIs; Alex Paz 2-5; Parker Coddou 2-3, RBI.