May 3, 2008

Final Stats

CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. - Nicholls picked up two wins, 6-3 and 6-2, over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday afternoon to earn a spot in the 2008 Southland Conference Tournament.

The Colonels (27-27, 14-14) won the first game by ringing up six runs on nine hits while committing no errors. The Islanders (21-31, 11-18) had eight hits, but only managed to score three runs and had a total of three costly errors.

Nicholls got the scoring started in the top of the second when senior Amy Thibodeaux plated on a wild pitch for the Colonels to take the early 1-0 lead. In the top of the third, the Colonels tacked on one more courtesy of senior Kat Harrell who also scored on a wild pitch.

The score remained 2-0 until the top of the fifth when Nicholls put together a three-run inning. Harrell started the scoring off when she was brought home on a double to leftfield by junior Danielle Clayton. Clayton was plated two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Thibodeaux to make the score 4-0. The RBI by Thibodeaux was her 100th career RBI, and she is only the third player in Nicholls history to achieve the career mark.

The last and final run of the fifth inning came on a roping double by sophomore Nicole Smith that scored sophomore Gabby Lemaire from second. Lemaire was pinch running for sophomore Audrey Wood.

In the top of the sixth, the Colonels tacked on an insurance run to make the score 6-0 when junior Kodi Butler singled through the right side to bring home Harrell.

The Islanders mounted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth when they scored three-runs, but senior Krystalin Ensminger came in for relief and got the swinging strikeout to end the inning with the score 6-3. Both teams failed to score in the seventh, propelling the Colonels to victory.

Getting the win in the circle was Wood who threw a total of 5.2 innings to improve to 7-6 on the season. Leading the Colonels at the plate with an outstanding performance was Harrell as she went 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Also having a huge performance at the plate was Smith as she finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and a RBI.

In the second game, the Islanders picked up one run in the bottom of the first to take the 1-0 lead. The score remained that way until the fifth when the Colonels put together a six-run scoring onslaught.

The entourage started when Harrell came up with the two-out single to centerfield that scored true freshman Tori Lay from second. The two-out rally continued with back-to-back RBI singles by Butler and Clayton to make the score 3-1. Then Wood and Thibodeaux combined for back-to-back doubles with Wood's plating two and Thibodeaux's scoring one to round out the inning.

The Islanders added on in the bottom of the seventh, but it would not be enough as the Colonels took the contest, 6-2.

Leading the Colonels at the plate was Clayton with a 3-for-4 showing to go along with a run and a RBI. Wood finished with a game high two RBIs to go along with a run. Having a hit and a RBI in the win was Harrell, Butler, Clayton and Thibodeaux. Getting the win in the circle was sophomore Lacey Gros to improve to 8-3 on the season. Gros only allowed four hits and two runs while fanning six.

The Colonels and Islanders will cap off the series tomorrow with a Noon contest.

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