Game 1 Box vs. Southern
Game 2 Box vs. Houston

HOUSTON – The Nicholls State University softball team kicked off play on Friday in the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic at Cougar Softball Stadium with a 10-4 victory over Southern University before being held hitless against the University of Houston in a 6-0 defeat.

In the opener against Southern, the Colonels pounded out 18 hits to knock off the Lady Jaguars 10-4. Nicholls (3-3) jumped out to a 5-1 lead after two at-bats and would tack on five more to notch their third consecutive victory.

The top-half of the Nicholls order put together a strong performance in the victory as the No. 1-5 hitters each had at least two hits. Megan Gaspard led with four hits and four runs while Ashley Ray finished with three hits which included her second three-run home run of the season. Lauren Batiz, Brittany Marcet, Kat Angeles, and Brittany Ezell chipped in with two hits apiece.

Carlee Winklemann (1-0) picked up the win with a complete game, surrendering four runs on 10 hits in seven innings.

The Colonels cracked the scoring column in the opening frame on a RBI double by Batiz. After Southern evened the game at 1-1 in their half, Nicholls put up a 4-spot in the second inning. The first five Colonels reached base to chase starter Li Konopelko in only one inning of work. Tsade Joubert and Gaspard each drove in a run on singles before Angeles capped off the innings with a two-run double to make the score 5-1.

Southern (1-6) cut into the lead in the bottom of the second with two runs; however, Winklemann would only surrender two hits over the next four innings to keep the Lady Jaguars scoreless.

Nicholls pushed the lead back to four on a pair of sacrifice flies in the fourth, and in the sixth, Ray smacked a three-run shot to left for the Colonels' final runs. Southern would add a run in the seventh to make the final 10-4.

While the Colonels had no problem at the plate in the first game, the matchup against Houston (5-1) was a different story. Nicholls managed to draw six walks on the evening but were unable to get a base hit as they were blanked 6-0 by the Cougars.

Houston's Amanda Crabtree fanned 11 batters in the no-hitter which included a strikeout to end the game.

Katie Moulder (1-2) was tagged with the loss, giving up three earned runs on four hits in four innings. Ashton Bennett pitched three innings in relief, surrendering two runs on three hits.

After a scoreless first, Houston scored in each of the next four innings to go up 6-0. The Cougars finished the day with eight hits and had a pair of solo home runs.

Trailing by four, the Colonels threatened in the fourth, loading the bases with one out. Batiz reached on an error followed by walks from Tori Lay and Whitney Roan. However, the Cougars would get out of the jam with an inning-ending double play.

Nicholls put the shutout in jeopardy again in the sixth, placing runners on first and third with two down after Lay drew her second walk of the game. Crabtree would once again come out unscathed, forcing a fly out before retiring the seventh in order to secure the no-hitter.

Nicholls returns to action in day two of the Hilton Plaza Classic with an 11 a.m. matchup against No. 22 Oklahoma State, followed by a contest with No. 18 LSU at 5 p.m. Both opponents were 1-1 in their first day of the classic.