Game One Box
Game Two Box

THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University softball team kicked off their 2011 home slate on Sunday against Sam Houston State at the Colonel Softball Complex and came away with a 7-4 victory in game one before losing the lead late in the second game en route to a 5-3 loss.

The Colonels (7-11, 1-1 SLC) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning before tacking on five insurance runs in their final two at-bats, which proved to be much needed. Trailing 7-1 in the seventh, Sam Houston State (10-15, 3-2 SLC) rallied to put three on the board. However, with two on and two out, sophomore Ashton Bennett (4-5) notched her third strikeout of the game as the Colonels held on 7-4.

Bennett scattered 10 hits in seven innings of work, with five coming in the Bearkat seventh. She gave up four runs while walking only one.

The Colonels finished with nine hits, led by junior Ashley Ray, and freshmen Brittany Marcet and Kat Angeles, who all had two hits.

Bennett started off the scoring in the first with an RBI double, plating Ray who scored three times in the game. Senior Tori Lay would put Nicholls up 2-0 with a single to center.

After a solo shot by the Bearkats in the fourth, Marcet made the score 3-1 with a double in the fifth. Junior Mandy Granger would also add a RBI single in the frame.

In the sixth, Ray came through with a RBI base hit as Nicholls scored two on the play to go up 6-1. The junior from Lafayette, La., would then come around to score on a wild pitch later in the inning.

SHSU did not go away quietly however, using five hits in their final at-bat to cut the deficit to 7-4 before Bennett ended the threat with a strikeout, earning her fifth complete game of the season.

For the second game, the Colonels held a 3-1 lead going into the sixth, but a four-run frame which included a three-run home run proved to be the deciding factor as Sam Houston State took the game, 5-3, picking up a split in the doubleheader.

Carlee Winklemann (1-3) took the loss, giving up one earned in 5.2 innings. She gave up 10 hits and struck out one. Freshman Katie Moulder threw 1.1 innings, striking out one with no hits allowed.

Ray and freshman Lauren Jolivette paced the offense with two hits each. As a team, Nicholls finished with seven in the loss.

Winklemann got into a jam in the first inning as the Bearkats led off the game with three consecutive hits to take a 1-0 lead. However, with the bases loaded and one out, Winklemann weathered the storm by forcing a pair of infield pops ups to keep the margin at one. In Nicholls' half, Granger tied to score with a RBI groundout.

Nicholls took the lead on a RBI single by sophomore Katie Holmes in the fourth, and Ray would add one more in the fifth to make the score 3-1.

In the Bearkat sixth, a leadoff error proved to be costly as SHSU scored all four runs with two outs. The Colonels would put two on in the seventh but came up empty, falling by a final of 5-3.

Nicholls will return to action on Tuesday when they host Southern University at the Colonel Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.