HAMMOND, La. – After a pair of tough losses in day one of the Lion Classic on Saturday, the Nicholls State University softball team came back on Sunday to sweep their doubleheader; knocking off the University of Akron, 5-4, before ousting Jackson State, 7-1.

Nicholls (2-2) once again faced a late inning rally by their opponent in game one as Akron (2-2) scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Colonel lead to 5-4. In Akron's final frame, an error put the leadoff runner on for the Zips; however, freshman Katie Moulder would retire the next two batters before ending the game with a strikeout.

Moulder (1-1) threw a complete game for her first career victory, surrendering three earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

On offense, the Colonels were led by senior Tori Lay and sophomores Lauren Batiz and Katie Holmes, each finishing with two hits. Holmes finished with two RBIs while Lay, junior Ashley Ray, and freshman Alaina Guidry each drove in a run.

Guidry put Nicholls on the board on a fielder's choice in the second, and after Akron evened the score in the next inning, the Colonels plated two runs in the fourth to go up 3-1. Lay drove in the first run on an RBI single before Holmes laced a RBI double to right, giving Nicholls a two-run lead.

Nicholls added a pair of two-out insurance runs in the sixth on a RBI singles by Holmes and Ray. The Zips would rally back with three runs in their half but came up short in the seventh.

In the second game against Jackson State (1-4), Nicholls raced out to a 6-0 lead after three innings before going on to claim a 7-1 victory.

Sophomore Ashton Bennett threw a gem for her second complete game of the weekend, giving up just one unearned run on eight hits while striking out four. Bennett also provided herself with some run support; scoring three runs and driving in two on a double and her first home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth.

Nicholls jumped out to 4-0 advantage after their first at-bat. Bennett drove in junior Megan Gaspard on a double to rightcenter before Lay brought in a pair on a single. The Colonels added one more run on an error to take the early lead.

After Nicholls took advantage of some spotty defense in the third to score two runs, Bennett put the lead at 7-0 in the sixth on a homer to left.

In Jackson's final at-bat, the Lady Tigers finally got on the board after three singles. With two outs and the bases loaded, Bennett would force a groundout to end the game.

Nicholls returns to action next weekend with six games in the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic, hosted by the University of Houston. The Colonels open up the classic on Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. against Southern University.