Taylor, offense pace Nicholls in UIW series finale win, 7-5

THIBODAUX, La. — Bolstered by the team’s top hitting performance of the year along with yet-another stellar closing display from Joe Taylor, the Nicholls State University baseball program (18-25, 13-15 SLC) managed to outgun a resilient UIW (16-25, 12-20 SLC) squad throughout a hard-fought series finale, evening up the four-game set behind a 7-5 victory over the Cardinals early Sunday afternoon at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.

Most notably, the Colonels utilized the team’s strong offensive showing — posted 15 hits on the day, tying a season high — to play a majority of the contest with a lead, knocking home a pair in the third frame to cement an advantage they would never surrender. Out of the pen, veteran arms Beau Balado (3-1) and Joe Taylor took took care of business over the final 4.2 innings, as the former clinched his third win of the 2021 campaign — surrendered just one run on a single hit — before the latter locked down a league second-best ninth save — no runs allowed on four hits along with a pair of strikeouts — en route to the two-run victory.

KEY STORYLINES & STATISTICS
— With the win, the Colonels improve to 18-25 overall for the season along with a 13-15 mark in Southland competition; meanwhile, UIW falls to 16-25 on the year with a 12-20 record in league play.
— Sophomore transfer Josh Mancuso logged a solid outing in just his second start of the season, not to mention first at Didier Field, tossing 3.0 frames with three runs given up on three hits. In relief, freshman Nico Saltaformaggio put together another efficient display as well, battling through 1.1 innings with just one run surrendered on two hits.
— Offensively, the Red & Gray squeezed out some juice from every batter in the lineup for the first time since Apr. 14, 2019 (vs. UIW, 7-3 win), as all nine Colonels connected for a base hit. Sophomore Austin Cain led the way with a trio of hits — his second three-plus hit outing of the year — while seniors Dillon Belle and Alex Galy along with freshmen Parker Coddou and Wes Toups added on a pair each. As for scoring, Coddou and senior Greg Anderberg proved the most efficient, racking up two RBIs apiece as the duo snapped 14- and 10-game streaks, respectively, with zero runs batted in.

ON DECK
With the weekend series against the Cardinals concluded, the Colonels turn their attention to the team’s final midweek matchup of the season, hosting Prairie View A&M on Wednesday, May 5 at Didier Field, first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.

STAY SOCIAL
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