Box Score

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Nicholls State University softball team closed out the 2011 season on a high note, plating four runs in the sixth to complete a tremendous comeback as the Colonels defeated Stephen F. Austin, 6-5, to win its season finale at SFA Field on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, Nicholls clinched the Southland Conference series victory – the second in its last three – and closed out the year with a 15-37 overall record and 7-22 in conference.

Trailing 5-0 after three innings, Nicholls chipped away at the lead by scoring a run in the next two frames before putting together the four-run sixth. Back-to-back singles led off the sixth and a hit by pitch loaded the bases and then Lauren Jolivette, who gave the Colonels their first run on a single in the fourth, drew a walk to make it 5-3.

After Whitney Roan delivered a sac fly which advanced all three runners and put the score at 5-4, SFA (14-36, 9-21 SLC) elected to pitch around the Colonels' top hitter, Ashley Ray, to face Mandy Granger. Granger responded with a two-run single to center, giving Nicholls a 6-5 lead.

Reliever Ashton Bennett (7-19) ran into trouble in the bottom half as the Ladyjacks loaded the bases with one out. Bennett forced a short flyout for the second out before escaping on a 6-3 putout, securing the Colonel lead into the final inning.

In SFA's final at-bat, Bennett took care of the Ladyjacks in order, striking out the final two batters to give Nicholls a 6-5 victory.

Bennett went four innings, giving up three hits while striking out five. In her last three outings, Bennett racked up 21 strikeouts giving her 82 for the season. Starter Katie Moulder tossed three innings, surrendering three earned on six hits.

Nicholls had seven hits, led by Laine Strickland who was 2-for-4. Ashley Ray had a hit to extend her hitting streak to 14 games, tying the Nicholls all-time mark set by Tyra Perry in 1994 and Megan Gaspard in 2010. Gaspard had two runs on the day including coming around to score in the fifth on two errors. Tori Lay, who also scored twice, and Lauren Batiz accounted for the other two hits.

Stephen F. Austin jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third with the help of two home runs. A leadoff shot by Elizabeth Arana made it 1-0 before Bethany Brown hit a two-run homer down the left field line. The Ladyjacks capped off the inning by scoring two more on an error; however, Bennett would keep them scoreless the rest of the way.

Arana and Lauren Luetge led SFA with three hits each with Brown adding two. Luetge (0-3) suffered the loss in the circle, giving up four earned off four hits in four innings of work.

Although missing out on postseason play for only the second time in the last six seasons, Nicholls will head into 2012 with seven returning starters and two of its three pitchers – losing seniors Tori Lay, Whitney Roan and Carlee Winkelmann.