CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Interstat) — A dominant start from Nuno Parache and a five-run ninth inning fueled by defensive miscues carried the Nicholls State Colonels to an 11-7 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders in a Southland Conference baseball opener Friday night.

The game, played before a crowd of 1,127 at Chapman Field, saw the Colonels improve to 7-8 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Islanders fell to 8-6, 0-1.

Parache, the top star for Nicholls State, set the tone with a powerful 4.1-inning start. He struck out eight batters and did not allow a hit, though he was charged with three runs, all of which scored after his departure in a chaotic fifth inning. His performance marked a sharp rebound from his previous outing on Feb. 27, when he allowed five earned runs in a loss to McNeese State.

Nicholls State built an early lead against Islanders starter Preston Watkins. Carter Jenkins drove in the first run with a first-inning single, then broke the game open in the third. After an RBI single from RijoBerger and a run-scoring hit from Milam, Greyson Shafer launched a three-run homer to deep right field, his third of the season, to give the Colonels a commanding 6-0 advantage.

The Islanders, held hitless by Parache, clawed back into the game in the fifth. After Parache walked two and struck out another, Cole Simoneaux relieved him with the bases loaded. Two wild pitches and a two-run single through the right side by Flaggert highlighted a four-run rally, cutting the Nicholls lead to 6-5. An unearned run in the seventh on an RBI fielder’s choice by Sanchez brought the Islanders within a single run at 7-6.

The most important part of the game unfolded in the top of the ninth inning, with Nicholls State clinging to that one-run lead. The Colonels sent 10 men to the plate against three Islanders relievers, capitalizing on a cascade of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi errors to score five unearned runs and secure the win.

The inning began with a fielding error by second baseman Sanchez. After a hit-by-pitch and a strikeout, Jenkins delivered the critical blow, a two-run double to right-center field to extend the lead to 9-6. RijoBerger followed with an RBI single, and after another error, pinch-hitter Artigues added a run-scoring single to complete the outburst.

The late offensive explosion made a winner of reliever Peyton Lacy, who provided three scoreless innings of hitless relief with two strikeouts. Joseph Bordelon worked a perfect ninth to close it out.

For the Islanders, Watkins took the loss, allowing six earned runs on seven hits over five innings while striking out nine. Relievers Nicho Crowley, Easten Smith and Chase Mayer combined for four innings of one-hit, shutout ball with eight strikeouts before the bullpen faltered in the ninth.

Jenkins finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Nicholls State, which tallied 11 hits. Shafer’s three RBIs came on his third-inning homer. The Islanders managed only five hits, with Russell collecting two singles.

The victory defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had predicted a 6-5 win for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, though their ELO system gave Nicholls State a 56.6% probability to win.

The teams are scheduled for a doubleheader on Saturday to conclude the series.