THIBODAUX, La. – Junior lefthander Taylor Byrd and three relief pitchers combined to pitch a five-hitter as Nicholls State (4-2) ended the Tigers' (4-1) season-opening four-game winning streak with a rain-delayed 5-3 victory over the Tigers at Didier Field on Saturday evening.
The victory evened the series at one win each. The teams will play the third and deciding game of the three-game weekend series on Sunday afternoon.
After the start of the game was delayed by four hours, the Colonels grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning. With one out, first baseman Tyler Duplantis singled up the middle. After leftfielder David Zorn followed with a double, catcher Cody Dufrene doubled to rightfield, driving in two runs. But, sophomore righthander Paul Beers pitched out of the jam by retiring the next two hitters.
The Tigers cut their deficit to 2-1 in the third inning. Junior centerfielder Brandon Gonnella led off the winning by a drawing a walk from Byrd. Third baseman Zach Fisher followed with a single to left as Gonnella reached third base. Moments later, Gonnella scored on a wild pitch while Fisher took second base. But Byrd pitched out of the jam by retiring Brendan Butler on a fly ball to left, striking out Dominic Fratantuono and getting senior catcher Andrew Parker on a ground ball back to the mound.
In the bottom of the third, rightfielder Mike Barba doubled down the left field line and second baseman Phillip Lyons blasted a two-run homer over the rightfield fence, giving Nicholls State a 4-1 advantage. It was the first home run allowed by Tiger pitching in 45 innings this season.
The Tigers trimmed their deficit to 4-2 in the sixth inning when Parker blasted a solo homer to left centerfield.
In the seventh inning, the Tigers tried to rally and tie the game. Senior Kurtis Voytell led off the inning with a walk. A sacrifice bunt by junior second baseman Pat Fitzgerald moved Voytell into scoring position. After junior shortstop Hunter Bennett struck out, Gonnella lined a single to right, scoring Voytell and making it a 4-3 lead. A walk to Fisher gave the Tigers runners on first and second base.
At that point, Byrd was relieved by Jacob Rodriguez. Rodriguez ended the threat by retiring Butler on a popup to second base.
In the eighth inning, Parker drew a one-out walk to start a rally. After he reached second base on a wild pitch, junior Kurt Wertz struck out. When Voytell drew a walk, his third of the game, Rodriguez was relieved by Kelly Langston. He ended the threat by getting Fitzgerald to ground out to second base.
The Colonels added to their lead in the bottom of the eighth inning against freshman righthander Lee Lawler, who had pitched two innings of shutout relief in place of Beers. Barba led off the eighth with a triple to centerfield. Lyons followed with a double to left, driving in Barba for a 5-3 advantage. After pinch hitter Adam Seal singled to put runners on first and third with no outs, Coach Mike Gottlieb brought junior lefthander Kyle Paul in from the bullpen to pitch.
Paul kept the Tigers in the game by retiring the next three hitters in a row, striking out Zachary LeBouf and Duplantis before getting pinch hitter Chris Miller on a pop up.
The Tigers' hopes of a comeback win were dashed by senior righthander Jordan McCoy. McCoy retired the Tigers in order to earn a save.
Byrd picked up the victory by allowing three runs on five hits with five walks and 10 strikeouts in 6.2 innings. But, the Nicholls State bullpen did not allow any runs or hits in the final 2.1 innings.
Lyons and Duplantis led the Colonels' 12-hit attack with three hits each. Lyons went three-for-four with a double and a home run and three runs batted in.
Beers suffered the loss by allowing four runs on eight hits in five innings of work. Lawler allowed one run on four hits in two innings before Paul pitched one scoreless inning of relief. The Tigers were limited to five hits, including a home run by Parker and singles by Fisher, Fratantuono, Gonnella and Wertz.
Towson and Nicholls State conclude their series on Sunday at 12 noon (CST).
