Small ball in extra innings gives Nicholls baseball team biggest win of the season

Small ball gave the Nicholls baseball team its biggest win of the season Thursday night at the Southland Conference Tournament in Hammond.

It came at the end of a game in which solo home runs were the order of the day.

Nicholls hit three solo home runs and Southeastern Louisiana one, but it all added up to a 4-4 game in regulation, sending the contest to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th inning, Edgar Alvarez drew a leadoff walk against Southeastern pitcher Lakin Polk after the SLC’s Player of the Year went 0 for 4 in his previous at-bats in the game.

Pinch-hitter Cade Crosby laid down a bunt between home plate and third base for an infield hit. A sacrifice bunt by Garrett Felix advanced Alvarez and Crosby. Basiel Williams was intentionally walked to load the bases.

A wild pitch by Polk allowed Alvarez to score the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the 10th inning, Nico Saltaformaggio, the SLC’s Relief Pitcher of the Year, got Parker Coley and Ryan Brome to ground out before striking out T.J. Salvaggio to secure the 5-4 win for Nicholls.

Nicholls (36-20) will next play at 7 p.m. Friday. The Colonels will face the winner of the University of New Orleans-Southeastern Louisiana elimination game slated for noon Friday. By winning on Thursday, the Colonels avoided have to play as early as noon on Friday or having to play two games that day.

“Rest for the arms, rest for the bodies. It’s really hot out there. Some of these kids are exerting so much emotion. I thought we were tight tonight. And I know that’s terrible to say. I thought we were tight offensively. I thought we tried to do too much. These kids want it so bad; they’ve got to relax and just go play down the stretch if we are going to win this thing,” Nicholls coach Mike Silva said.

Saltaformaggio (7-4) got the win. He pitched the final five innings of the game, allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts. His long stint allowed Nicholls to further preserve its bullpen.

“We need different guys to step in in these next couple of games. We’ll probably start Devin Desandro tomorrow. That’s what it takes. We used two arms tonight, it’s huge. We have a bunch of other guys that are rested, and they will have their moment as well where they can step up and get the job done,” said Silva.

Nicholls will only have to play one game on Friday, enabling the Colonels to possibly use Saltaformaggio again on Saturday, if needed, Silva said.

The Nicholls reliever went into the game to open the sixth inning in place of Colonel starter Michael Quevedo.

Eligible to play after serving a four-game suspension, Quevedo allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out two in five innings.

“I hate to say that’s what we’ve come to expect from him,” Silva said of Saltaformaggio. “Mikey gave us five. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he really competed his butt off and gave us a chance. Obviously, we didn’t have to use Salt yesterday, so we gave him the ball. We felt like we had to. We were chasing a run. We felt like we couldn’t give up any more. We weren’t doing anything offensively.”

Polk (5-4), the last of three SLU pitchers, suffered the loss. He allowed one run on one hit and three walks, with four strikeouts in two innings of work.

Nicholls went to the top of the ninth inning trailing 3-2.

A solo home run by Williams off of Jackson Rodriguez to open the top of the inning – the third solo homer of the game for Nicholls – tied the game.

“Basiel stepping up in that moment, we needed an older veteran guy who had been there and has so many clutch hits for us – none bigger than tonight,” said Silva.

With a swirling wind giving defenders a tough time all game, Drake Anderson hit a fly ball to short right field. Several defenders converged on the ball. Brome, the Lions first baseman, got a glove on the ball but it popped out for an error, enabling Anderson to reach second base on the play.

Anderson advanced to third base on a wild pitch. On the play, an errant throw to third base by SLU catcher Conner O’Neal allowed Anderson to score to put Nicholls on top 4-3.

Jude Hall led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo home run to left center field to force extra innings.

The teams got off to a quick start, each scoring a pair of runs in the second inning.

Solo home runs to left field Felix and Anderson gave Nicholls a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning.

Back-to-back singles to right field by Jake Haze and Hall to open the bottom of the second eventually set up a two-run single to left field by Sorensen to tie the game.

SLU (29-27) took its first lead of the game in the third inning. Felix, the Nicholls left fielder, misplayed a fly ball that ended up bouncing over the fence for a ground-rule double. After Coley stole second base, Shea Thomas delivered a two-out single to give the Lions a 3-2 lead.

After giving up the two solo home runs in the second inning, SLU starter Dakota Lee really settled down. From the third through fifth innings, he allowed no runs, allowing one single and hit two batters. He was replaced in the seventh inning by Rodriquez after giving up a leadoff walk in the seventh inning.

“He dominated us,” Silva said of Lee. “He dominated us with his fastball, which is kind of disappointing, but credit him. His pitch count got up to about 97 when they took him out. We knew he was probably hitter to hitter at that point. They had a rested bullpen as well. We felt we had to get him out of the game. Honestly, I thought their guys out of the bullpen threw the ball well.”

Nicholls took advantage of four Lion errors in the game.

“It was miscues defensively that cost them,” said Silva. “I told our guys, ‘you stayed in the fight long enough to give the team an opportunity to make mistakes and we were fortunate enough to take advantage of them.’”