Huntsville, Tx - Leftfielder Keith Kulbeth's three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning gave Nicholls a 15-12 Southland Conference baseball victory Saturday at Don Sanders Stadium in a contest that saw the two teams combine for 35 hits and six errors.

Nicholls (19-19 9-11 Southland) totaled 18 hits as second baseman Steven Gauthe went 3-for-5 and seven Colonels had two hits. Every Nicholls starter scored.

Sam Houston (16-24, 9-11 Southland) produced 17 hits with left fielder Payton Wisener going 4-for-4.

The Bearkats rallied from a nine-run deficit, then took a one-run lead into the top of the ninth Saturday at Don Sanders Stadium. Nicholls, however, put together its own rally to hand Sam Houston State a gut-wrenching 15-12 loss.

"This was a wild one," first baseman Taylor Davis said. "We get down 11 to two going into the seventh and score eight runs to get back into the ball game - we made a lot of mistakes to get down by that much. We've got to eliminate those, but at least we had some fight left in us.

"If we pitched well in the ninth and played good defense, we win this game. That's the way it goes."

Holding a slim 12-11 lead in the top of the ninth, SHSU reliever Paul Spinn ran into trouble as the first three batters of the inning hit safely and Nicholls tied the game. Matt Shelton came in for Spinn and gave up a three-run homer to left fielder Keith Kulbeth.

"Matt's been our closer and he's struggled a little bit," SHSU head coach Mark Johnson said. "He was good on Tuesday (at Baylor). When he's on, he's lights out and he's better than anybody we've got.

"Paul was getting through it so we decided to start him in the ninth inning and they laced a couple of hits right off the bat. We had to gamble that Matt had his stuff, and he didn't have his stuff, and I think he'd tell you that."

In the bottom of the inning, the Bearkats (9-11 in SLC play, 16-24 overall) weren't able to pose a threat, failing to get a runner in scoring position.

"That three-run homer was a big deflator. It was a real heartbreaker," Davis said. "If they just scratch one, then it's more likely that we would be able to come back. But they get a three-run homer off our best guy and now you've got to score three runs against a guy who looked like he had some pretty good stuff. You fight so hard to get back in the game and they deliver another blow."

After scoring two runs in the first inning, Sam Houston was held scoreless for the next five innings. The Kats mustered just four hits over the next five innings against Colonels southpaw starter Clint Dempster.

Coupled with not being able to string hits together were fielding issues for SHSU, which allowed Nicholls (9-11, 19-19) to score 11 runs in a six-inning span and take an 11-2 lead.

 The Bearkats, on the verge of being run-ruled as the Colonels jumped out to a nine-run lead in the seventh, started finding their rhythm against Dempster. Sam Houston ripped single after single to start the inning. The first six Bearkat batters hit through the infield and started to cut away at the deficit.

The Bearkats scored four runs to go with six hits in the inning before Dempster was pulled.

By the time the inning was done, the Bearkats had scored eight runs and had pulled to within one.

In the next inning, pinch hitter Tyler Fiebrich, who drove in a run in the seventh with a sacrifice fly to center field, blooped a single to shallow right field to drive in a pair of runs and give the Bearkats a short-lived lead.

"We always try to get into the bullpen as quickly as possible and (Dempster) was starting to labor a little bit," Davis said. "In the seventh, he started elevating some balls and we finally got a good read on him our third and fourth time through the lineup. We just tried to get the next guy at the plate and give ourselves a chance. Eight runs in an inning is impressive, especially off that guy.

"Fieb comes up and gets a big two-out hit. We think we have it and they come up and get four runs in the ninth. This one hurts."

The Bearkats and the Colonels head into today's rubber match with identical conference marks and are tied for eight place and the conference's final spot in the SLC tournament.

"That's the thing about baseball, you live to fight another day," Davis added. "We're right in the thick of things. We've just got to come out and hit, pitch and play good defense."