Williams hero once again as walk-off home run sends Nicholls to SLC Championship Game

Basiel Williams loves hitting in the ninth inning.

A day earlier, Williams hit a solo home run to open the top of the ninth inning to tie the game for Nicholls on its way to an eventual 5-4 win in 10 innings over Southeastern Louisiana.

In a rematch on Friday night in Hammond, Williams led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk-off home run for a 4-3 win over the Lions to send the Colonels to Saturday’s Southland Conference championship.

“He’s doing it right now. He’s giving it to us. There’s nobody you want more at the plate right now,” Nicholls coach Mike Silva said.

Other than some nail-biting moments in the final couple of innings, the day couldn’t have gone much better for the Colonels.

Earlier in the day, Lamar defeated McNeese 18-9 in a game that lasted 3:31 played in the middle of the day with a heat index above 100 degrees. McNeese went through seven pitchers in the game and Lamar five.

“Sometimes guys being a little fatigued makes them play better. On the other side of it, making them play extra games that means using more pitching. Of course, you think that’s going to be advantageous. I don’t know how advantageous it is or not, I guess we’ll find out,” said Silva.

The win kept Lamar (44-14) alive in the tournament, forcing a showdown again with McNeese (31-26) on very little rest when the teams meet at 1 p.m. Saturday. Nicholls will take on the winner at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Saturday’s starter for Nicholls, Silva said, will be dictated by the outcome of the Lamar-McNeese game.

“There are two guys we are considering. We’ll figure it out in the morning. We’ll figure out who we’re going with as soon as we find out who we are playing,” the Nicholls coach said.

Friday night, Nicholls (37-20) was one out away from winning the game when the Lions had runners on third and first in the top of the ninth.

Colonels coach Mike Silva brought in Arturo Rodriguez in place of Gavin Galy on the mound for Nicholls.

Rodriguez hit the first batter he faced, Ryan Brome, to load the bases. He then hit Jude Hall with a pitch to force in the tying run. With the bases still loaded, Rodriquez struck out Shea Thomas, sending the game to the bottom of the ninth with the score tied 3-3.

Williams’ home run made a winner of Rodriguez. In one-third of an inning, Rodriguez (3-3) hit two batters and had one strikeout while allowing an inherited runner to score. He was the last of four pitchers used by Nicholls in the game.

Playing their fourth game in three days, the Lions started Dalton Aspholm on the mound. The right-hander made only his second start of the season and his 16th appearance for SLU.

Nicholls starter Devin Desandro threw a total of 17 pitches over the first two innings, getting a bit of help from his defense. The Nicholls right-hander opened the game by giving up a leadoff single to Parker Coley, but the SLU right fielder was quickly erased on a double play. In the second inning, Narvin Booker Jr. made a diving catch while running in to haul in a liner by Rhett Rosevear.

Desandro tossed a total of 19 pitches in the third inning. He struck out the first two hitters before issuing his first walk of the game to Cole Stromboe. Desandro got Coley to fly out to left field, stranding Stromboe at second base.

Nicholls grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Edgar Alvarez, the Southland’s Player of the Year, blasted a two-out home run to right center field.

Southeastern Louisiana (30-28) threatened in the top of the sixth inning but couldn’t score.

Coley led off the inning with a double to right center field. A sacrifice fly to center field by Brome advanced Coley to third base. After Desandro struck out Hall, he got Thomas to ground out to first base to end the inning.

Clinging to a 1-0 lead, Nicholls loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Alvarez took a called third strike from SLU relief pitcher Larson Fabre, making the Colonels 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

In the top of the seventh, the Colonels started out the inning with a key defensive play when Anderson, the Nicholls second baseman, ranged far to his right to toss out Rosevear at first base.

After a single by Jake Haze, Desandro left the game after tossing 86 pitches and was replaced by left-hander Chase Richter. Richter walked pinch-hitter Conner O’Neal, putting runners on second base with one out. Richter then hit T.J. Salvaggio with a base to load the bases.

Richter walked Cole Stromboe to force in a run to the tie the game. Right-hander Gavin Galy went to the mound in place of Richter.

Coley greeted Galy with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring O’Neal to give the Lions a 2-1 lead. Coley then got Rhome to ground out to second base to finally bring the inning to an end.

“He’s tough and as great a competitor as you can get,” Silva said of Desandro. Obviously, being from Thibodaux, it’s really important to him. He’s been as big as anybody in this building process through the last three years. He’s given it to us the last two times out. He’s been outstanding and really the last five times he’s pitched this year, he’s been at his very best. It was really hard to go take the ball from him.

“When I went to Richter, the numbers are just staggering as far as that guy against left-handed pitcher and Chase Richter has been so good for us and we felt good about Devin until about pitch 90. We just felt like Chase has been so good for us, it’s good match up and he just he went out and didn’t have it. He wasn’t very good. It happens. Gavin came in after him and really limited the damage.”

The SLU lead didn’t last long.

Back-to-back doubles by Felix and Williams produced the tying run. Williams reached third base on a wild pitch, but Nicholls was unable to score when Lions pitcher Lance Lauve got Anderson and MaCrae Kendrick on called third strikes.

Desandro gave Nicholls a quality start. He allowed one run on four hits and one walk, with five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

Lauve (1-1), the last of four SLU pitchers, suffered the loss. He allowed three runs on five hits and one walk, with three strikeouts in two innings.