Pelicans take series opener from BRCC; Saturday doubleheader moved up

BATON ROUGE – Nunez Community College unleashed its offense early, scoring 9 runs on 9 hits in the first 3 innings, and Levi Brewster and Andre Roux split the pitching chores, as the Pelicans won the opener of a 3-game weekend conference series with Baton Rouge Community College by a score of 12-5 on a pleasant Spring evening at Pete Goldsby Field.

With the win, the Pels lock up second place in the final Region 23 league standings and will enter next week’s conference tournament as the #2 seed.

The Pelicans stepped off the bus swinging, plating 4 in the top of the first.  Noah Detillier led off the game with a hard-ground single to center, and Payton Cooper drew a walk.  Collin Zeringue then drove a high fly that appeared might be caught as the runners tagged, but instead scraped off the wall in deep right-center with the runners able to advance only one base.

Landon Manson next followed with a line single to center to plate Detillier, with Cooper also scoring as the throw from the outfield sailed all the way to the backstop. Alex Crews was then hit-by-pitch on a 3-2 count to reload the bases, after which Kyle Landry scored the lead two runners with a hard-ground single inside the bag a third.

The Bears threatened in the bottom half, loading the bases on 2 singles and a walk, but the rally was snuffed out as Dylan Jimenez made a diving catch on Cole Joyner’s liner to left, and then rose to double the runner off second.  Brewster then struck out the next batter to end the frame without a run allowed.

Ashtyn Ellis led off the second for Nunez with a line single to center, and 2 outs later, Zeringue launched another shot, this one a towering blast that got out just inside the right-field foul pole for a homer to put the Pels up 6-0.

But BRCC cut that lead in half in the bottom of the frame on 2 walks, followed by Collin Dupre’s 2-out bouncer up the middle to plate one run, with 2 more next scoring on Braden McLin’s double to deep left-center.

The Pelicans got those runs right back in the third as Landry’s fielders-choice grounder forced Crews, who had led off with a single, at second.  Then, after Landry raced all the way around to third on a passed ball, Aiden Lambert’s clutch single to left not only plated Landry, but kept the inning alive for Ellis, who next smashed a no-doubt  missile well over the scoreboard in left field for a home run to put the Pels up 9-3.

Nunez then got one more in the fifth as they loaded the bases on 2 walks and a hit-batter, with Jimenez scoring on Cooper’s long sacrifice fly to left, after which the home team cut it to 10-5 on a hit-by-pitch followed by Matthew Reinholtz’s liner over the left field fence.

Brewster earned the mound victory, going 6 innings, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits, with 4 strikeouts, before handing that 5-run lead off to Roux.  The Hannan freshman right-hander then finished the game to qualify for the save by pitching 3 effective innings in a closing role.  Roux yielded no runs on just 2 hits while striking out two, and being bolstered by Ellis’ 2-out diving stab of Dupre’s bases-loaded line drive to right-center to end the eighth inning.

The Pels got their final runs in the ninth after 2 were out as Lambert walked and Ellis reached on an infield error, after which Detillier plated both runners with a long double into the left-center alley.

Detillier, Manson, Zeringue, and Ellis each pounded out 2 hits for Nunez, with Ellis scoring 3 runs, and Manson and Lambert each reaching base 4-of-5 times.  McLin led BRCC with a 2-for-5 night and 2 RBI’s.

                  Score By innings – Fri 4/28                 

                Nunez –  423 010 002 –  12  12 0

               BRCC –   030 002 000 –   5    9  2

            Brewster, Adr Roux (7) and Manson.   

       Shahrdar, Burkhead (4), Thomas (8) and Joyner.                    

            W – Brewster.  L – Shahrdar.  S – Adr Roux.

                    2B – Detillier, McLin.   SF- Cooper

                    HR – Zeringue, Ellis, Reinholtz.

NEXT UP / SCHEDULE CHANGE:

Nunez and Baton Rouge will close out their regular-season schedules on Saturday with a doubleheader, with the starting time moved up by one hour due to the forecast of rain later on Saturday.  Game 1 first pitch from Goldsby Field will now be at 1 PM.