Leo Cavell
May 24, 2011
James Walker
May 26, 2011
The Nicholls State baseball team had no room for error this past weekend.
The Colonels needed three-straight wins against McNeese State and also a combination of losses from other teams across the conference to squeeze into the Southland Conference’s No. 8 spot and clinch a spot in this week’s conference tournament.
Thanks to a blend of good play and also an alignment of the stars, the Colonels are headed to Katy, Texas.
Just hours after finding out that they got all the help they needed from various games across the conference, Nicholls took care of its own business Saturday afternoon and scored a dramatic 4-3 extra innings win, which extended the team’s season into the conference tournament for a second-straight season and for the first time under rookie coach Seth Thibodeaux.
“Four years ago, this program was winning 10 games a year,” Thibodeaux told geauxcolonels.com following the game. “And now, we’re competing for championships and we’re getting into the tournament.”
Saturday’s game was much like the Colonels’ entire path to Katy, rocky in patches, smooth in others, but ending in a successful ride.
Nicholls took a 1-0 first-inning lead. But the Cowboys fired back for a run in the sixth inning, then two more in the seventh to take a 3-1 advantage.
With just nine outs potentially remaining in their season, Nicholls clawed for runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to push the ballgame to extra innings.
While there, Nicholls needed just one frame to punch a ticket to Katy, as junior designated hitter Jeremy Hill pushed a two-out base hit through the right side of the infield to score senior outfielder Bear Comer.
“When I got up there, I figured they were going to throw me off-speed,” Hill told geauxcolonels.com following the hit. “So I was just going to try to flip something through the hole. I got lucky and it went through and we won the game.”
The Colonels stormed the field in celebration of their season-long goal of returning to the conference tournament, a goal that seemed bleak after the team was swept last weekend and headed into the series with McNeese no longer in control of its own destiny.
It was a goal that seemed even bleaker when the Colonels limped out of the gates and were buried in last place a third of the way through the conference season.
“We started out 1-9 in this league,” Thibodeaux said. “All I asked of our guys was to keep grinding, to keep grinding and give us a chance [because] if you guys got a chance, you could do it. We stayed positive. No one ever hit a panic button. … It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. For us, our backs were against the wall a little bit. We had to sweep, but we got it done. I knew we would.”
With the win, Nicholls will open Southland Conference Tournament play today at 7 p.m. against No. 1 seed and tournament host Texas State.
Texas State swept Nicholls during the season, but the Colonels mercy-ruled the Bobcats to open the conference tournament last year.
While Thibodeaux would be the first to admit he and his team are going for the gold in Katy, he also admits that he has nothing but pride for how they turned around its season, adding that no outcome this week will change his opinion about his club.
“It would have been easy back in March and April when we were 1-9 to quit and lay over and say, ‘Hey, we’ll get ’em next year,'” Thibodeaux said. “But not one time did our guys ever do that. Not one time did our guys ever stop taking extra cuts after practice or taking extra ground balls. … It’s a tribute to them. Everyone did it.
“We’ve done everything the right way. Our guys are graduating. Nicholls State baseball now is here to stay and I’m very happy to be a part of it.”
LSU falls short of conference tourney but still expects NCAA bid
While the Little Dipper, Orion and the Great Bear appeared to line up for Nicholls, the stars weren’t quite as straight in Baton Rouge, as LSU missed the Southeastern Conference Tournament by one game.
Like the Colonels, LSU needed to sweep their weekend series against Mississippi State and get help from around the conference. Also like Nicholls, LSU ended up getting the help they needed around the conference. But unlike the Colonels, the Tigers didn’t handle their business on the field, as junior closer Matty Ott blew a one-run ninth inning lead to cost LSU Friday’s game and also a spot in the SEC’s field of eight.
LSU won two of three games in the weekend series and closed the regular season with a 36-20 record.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri believes that stout win percentage, plus his team’s 12-3 mark in their past 15 games is enough to get his team into the NCAA Tournament field, which will be announced Monday.
The Tigers also have a three-game sweep of No. 9 Cal State Fullerton on their tournament resume, which boosts their RPI to No. 25 nationally in recent projections.
“I think we’ve built a very strong case to be included in the NCAA Tournament,” Mainieri said. “I feel like our kids deserve the opportunity to play in the postseason. They’ve competed extremely hard all season in the toughest conference in the nation, and I hope they’ll be rewarded for that.”
Nicholls junior pitcher Seth Webster tosses a pitch during a game this season. Webster’s complete game win was one of three wins for the Colonels this weekend. NSU SPORTS MEDIA
