THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team was solid on the defensive side of the ball, but could not muster enough offense to upend the Southland Conference leader Southeastern Louisiana, falling 3-1, on Friday night at Ray E. Didier Field.
 
The Colonels (13-11-1, 5-5 SLC) jumped on top early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Justin Holt led off with a triple and came home on a Kyle Reese sacrifice fly.
 
The Lions (21-7, 8-2 SLC) answered in the second when Jacob Seward singled through the right side to score Webb Bobo. Southeastern La. added a run in the fourth and the ninth to pad their advantage and Nicholls was held scoreless for the remainder of the game as the Lions cruised to their fifth consecutive conference win and sixth consecutive victory overall.
 
Righty Marc Frazier (1-5) took the loss for the Colonels, tossing four innings and surrendering two runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Right-hander Ryan Deemes was dominant in relief, holding SLU to one run on three hits while fanning six Lion batters through 4 1/3 innings. Lefty Stuart Holmes threw the final 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out one batter.
 
Righty Tate Scioneaux (5-1) captured the win for Southeastern La., surrendering just one run on three hits with two walks while fanning eight Nicholls batters in a complete-game effort.
 
Holt finished 1-for-3 with a run scored to pace the Colonels offensively. Reese registered the only RBI for Nicholls on the night.
 
Seward led the SLU offensively, batting 4-for-5 with two RBIs and a run. Bobo hit 2-for-3 and scored a run in the victory.
 
The Colonels and Lions will square off on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Hammond before returning to Thibodaux for a 1 p.m. series-finale battle at Ray E. Didier Field. Saturday's matchup will air on KTIB 640 AM, while Sunday's contest can be heard on KNSU 91.5 FM.
 
Following Sunday's ballgame, the Colonels will battle an even more important opponent as they join the fight against childhood cancer. The team will shave their heads in support of the Vs. Cancer Foundation, which is dedicated to saving kids' lives by empowering athletes and communities to fund lifesaving childhood cancer efforts.
 
You can join the fight too! Visit the Nicholls Baseball Vs. Cancer page at team.vs-cancer.org/Colonels to make a donation. To learn more visit VS-CANCER.ORG or follow the organization on twitter @VS_CANCER.
 
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats, video and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball.