ABILENE - Abilene Christian baseball dropped the fourth and final game of its series Sunday to Nicholls, 7-4, on a sunny, blustery day at Crutcher Scott Field.
The Wildcats (12-7) are 4-4 against the Southland Conference through two weeks of competition, while the Colonels (9-10) remain 2.0 games ahead at 6-2.
ACU jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead thanks to back-to-back hits from leadoff man
Mitchell Dickson (single) and
Colton Eager (double).
Tommy Cruz brought home Dickson on a ground ball to second, and Eager scored a play later when Colonels' left fielder dropped a fly ball hit by
Brett Hammit.
But from the second to the sixth, ACU was limited to two baserunners while the visiting Colonels put up two in the third and three in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead.
Nicholls benefited from three walks and a hit by pitch to tie the score at 2-2 in the third and went ahead for good in the fifth as three Wildcat pitchers combined to give up four walks, a hit and a couple wild pitches. A throwing error also allowed a run to score.
The Colonels' final two runs scored in the sixth and ninth innings both came home on wild pitches.
ACU utilized five pitchers overall and they combined for nine strikeouts led by middle reliever
Carter Sells, who whiffed five over 3.1 innings pitched. He also retired the final nine batters he faced after surrendering a sixth-inning single.
The Wildcats got their leadoff men on base from the seventh to ninth, but couldn't any more runners on base in any of those frames.
Grayson Tatrow doubled and scored on a Alexei Cazari fly ball to right in the seventh, and in the ninth
Sebastian Randle singled home
Miller Ladusau, who had reached on a throwing error by Nicholls' closer Joe Taylor.
The Wildcats return to action Friday for the start of a four-game set at New Orleans.
