THIBODAUX, La. - Despite taking a close loss, the Xavier Gold Rush baseball team can nonetheless take comfort in the fact that their 5-4 showing against NCAA Division I opponent Nicholls State rates among their better performances of the year. 

Nicholls State (11-8) is a team capable of defeating some of the top teams in the nation, and indeed, a week ago tonight had upset No. 10 Southern Miss on the road. That reality makes the loss for Xavier (4-13) perhaps easier to take, even as the Gold Rush deal with the sting of defeat. 

The game started slowly for Xavier, as the Colonels scored 4 runs over the first 3 innings of play. Undeterred, XULA fought back with a 3-run 4th inning, then held Nicholls State to a single run over the game's final 5½ innings. 

In the top of the third, first baseman Kai Higginson got the offense going for Xavier with an RBI double that scored Jayden Smith. Bryce Thomas followed with a 2-RBI single that scored Francis Thorne and Higginson. 

XULA's other run came in the 8th, when Chase DeLoach connected on an RBI single that scored Cohen Boyd. Boyd went 2-for-5 on the night.

Next up for Xavier will be a return to Red River Athletic Conference play with a visit to Billy Allgood Field in Pineville for a 3-game series against Louisiana Christian, which is currently ranked No. 14 in the nation. 

The teams will play Game 1 on Friday at 7 p.m. with a doubleheader to follow at 1 p.m. Saturday.