ABILENE - Abilene Christian came close to handing Nicholls its first loss of the Southland Conference season Friday at Crutcher Scott Field, but fine defensive plays to end the sixth, seventh and eighth innings combined with a game-ending K with the go-ahead runs on base kept the Colonels' conference winning streak alive at five behind a 7-6 win.
The loss dropped ACU to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the league, while the Colonels are 8-8 and 5-0. The two teams play again Saturday with a 7 / 9 inning doublheader starting at 2 p.m.
The Wildcats started the game in a 6-1 hole but started to dig their selves out during a three-run fourth in which the first four batters all singled (
Brett Hammit,
Miller Ladusau,
Sebastian Randle and
Alexei Cazarin). Randle's infield RBI single cut the Colonels' lead to 6-2 and Cazarin followed with a run-scoring chopper up the middle.
Colton Eager then came up two batters later to plate Randle with one of his two RBI singles.
Ladusau batted again in the fifth and crushed a two-out solo shot (his first of the year) against Beau Balado (2-0) to make it a 7-5 game, but that would be the only run Balado would surrender in his 2.1 innings of relief.
Cade Evans pitched himself out of trouble during a scoreless seventh, which ended on a fine defensive play at second base by Alex Galy, who dove up the middle to rob Cazarin of a run-scoring hit. Then in the eighth, with two on and two out and the Wildcats trailing by a run, Hammit sent a ball deep to the warning track in left-center field where Xane Washington caught it at the wall.
ACU put two more aboard in the ninth, but couldn't cas in as Joe Taylor earned his fifth save of the year after striking out
Grayson Tatrow to end the game.
Spencer Chirpich started and was charged with all seven runs in his 4.0 innings of work. Morgan came on in relief with a runner on (no outs) in the fifth and allowed just two baserunners the rest of the way, finishing with 5K and 60 pitches through 5.0 innings.
The Wildcats ripped 16 base hits tonight (15 singles) against five Colonel pitchers. Ladusau led the way with four base hits, while five of his teammates recorded two base knocks.
