Quevedo provides Nicholls with quality early innings as Colonels sweep series at SLU

Nicholls starter Michael Quevedo gave Nicholls quality innings early and the Colonels held to defeat Southeastern Louisiana 9-5 Sunday afternoon in Hammond to sweep the three-game Southland Conference series.

The win improved Nicholls to 6-3 in the Southland and 23-11 overall. SLU dropped to 3-6 in the conference and 19-13 overall.

Quevedo had a no-hitter through the first four innings before giving up a leadoff home run to Southeastern Louisiana’s T.J. Salvaggio to open the fifth. Until that point, the only baserunner allowed by Quevedo through four innings came when he issued a two-out walk to Jeremy Rader in the second inning.

In the first time through the SLU order, the junior left-hander struck out seven of nine Lion batters.

Nicholls led 6-0 prior to Salvaggio’s home run.

The Colonels answered with a one-out home run by Narvin Booker in the top of the sixth and Southeastern added its second run on a run-scoring ground out by Justin Williams to make it 7-2 going to the bottom of the eighth inning.

After a leadoff single by Bailyn Sorensen, Quevedo fanned Cole Stromboe for his 11th strikeout of the game.

Quevedo walked Jake Haze before being replaced on the mound by Devin Desandro with the Nicholls starter responsible for the two runners on base. Desandro gave up a double to the first batter he faced, Christian Garcia, and the Lions had cut the deficit to 7-4.

Quevedo (3-0), who tossed 97 pitches, ended up giving up four runs on four hits and two walks to go along with his 11 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.

After Desandro hit Shea Thomas with a pitch, he was relieved by Gavin Galy. A sacrifice fly to short center field by Jake Killingsworth scored Garcia to make it 7-5.

Nicholls added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning

After Cade Crosby was intentionally walked by Lance Lauve with one out to load the bases, he hit Erick Ordonez with a pitch to force in a run. Nicholls scored its final run of the game on a wild pitch by Aiden Vosburg, the last of three pitchers used by SLU in the game.

Nicholls scored a run in the top of the first inning on a double by Garrett Felix to score Edgar Alvarez.

The Colonels added three runs in the fourth inning to extend their lead to 4-0.

Alvarez and Gerardo Villarreal hit back-to-back home runs to open the fifth inning and stretch the Nicholls lead to 6-0.

SLU starter Will Kinzeler (1-3) took the loss. He allowed six runs on eight hits, while striking out three.

Nicholls 7, Southeastern Louisiana 3: The Colonels scored seven unanswered runs after SLU had taken a 3-0 lead to pull out the win in the second game of the series.

Meanwhile, Nicholls relief pitcher Michael Guerrero tossed a shutout over the final 4 1/3 innings in one of the better outings for a taxed Colonels bullpen.

Down by three runs, the Colonels pulled ahead 4-3 by scoring a pair of runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings.

Following a single by Parker Coddou to open the fourth inning, Alvarez walked. With one out, Felix singled to left, with a fielding error by Williams, the Lions’ left fielder, allowing two runs to score.

Coddou walked with two outs in the fifth inning. Alvarez, who saw his 21-game hitting streak come to an end a day earlier, followed with a double. Villarreal hit a short liner to right field. Parker Coley, the SLU right fielder, raced in to attempt a sliding catch. The ball got past Coley and raced all the way to the outfield wall, allowing Coddou and Alvarez to score as Nicholls took a 4-2 lead.

Nicholls added to its lead with two runs in the seventh inning on an RBI-double by Alvarez and when Felix hit onto a run-scoring fielder’s choice.

The final run for Nicholls came in the eighth on a Booker sacrifice fly.

Guerrero (3-0) picked up the win in relief of Jack Nelson, the Nicholls starter. Nelson allowed three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Lions starter Dakota Lee (0-4) took the loss. He allowed six runs, four of which were earned, on eight hits and five walks, while striking out five in 6 1/3 innings.

Southeastern gained it 3-0 lead with a two-run home run by Salvaggio in the first inning and solo home run by Williams in the third inning off of Nelson.

Nicholls 8, Southeastern Louisiana 7: Crosby ended what he started for the Colonels in the opening game of the three-game series.

Crosby delivered a run-scoring double in the 11th inning for what proved to be the winning run. He had staked Nicholls to a 3-0 lead with a bases-loaded triple in the first inning.

The 3-0 lead lasted only until the third inning when the Lions came up with three runs of their own to tie the game. Williams hit a two-run home run before SLU tied the game when Peyton Woods hit into a run-scoring double-play.

The teams traded runs over the next four inning until Nicholls scored two runs in the eighth inning on a home run by MaCrae Kendrick.

Thomas forced extra innings when his run-scoring double tied the game 6-6 in the ninth inning.

Ordonez hit a solo home run in the top of the 10th inning to give Nicholls the lead before SLU countered in the bottom half on a run-scoring single by Rader.

Desandro (3-2), the last of three Nicholls pitchers, picked up the win. He allowed one run on two hits and one walk, while striking out three in two innings.

Lakin Polk (4-1), the third of four Lions pitchers, took the loss. Polk allowed two runs on four hits and one walk, while striking out five in 2 2/3 innings.