Final Stats

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Senior Ashley Ray delivered the game-winning two-run single in the ninth inning, Megan Gaspard tied the Colonel single-game record with four hits and Katie Moulder tossed eight solid innings as the Colonels picked up a critical 6-3 victory in extra innings against UTSA at Roadrunner Field on Friday night.

With the win, Nicholls (13-27, 7-8) moves a game behind UTSA (20-25, 9-8) in the Southland Conference standings for sixth place. The teams will wrap up the series on Saturday, starting at 2 p.m.

Moulder (6-14) pitched a magnificent game, scattering 12 hits in eight innings of work. Ashton Bennett came in for relief in the ninth, picking up the save after a 1-2-3 inning.

Nicholls finished with 15 hits on the night, led by Gaspard who was 4-of-6 with a run scored and an RBI. Gaspard's four hits tied the Colonel single-game record held by several players, with Ashley Bertot being the last Colonel to reach the mark with a four-hit outing earlier this season.

Joining Gaspard with multi-hits was Kat Angeles with three, while Bertot, Ray, Paige Miller and Alaina Guidry each finished with two apiece.

Unfortunately for Moulder, two of the hits that she gave up were solo home runs, with UTSA taking the lead in the first on a shot by Molly Fichtner. In the third, Nicholls loaded the bases with two outs but UTSA starter Haylee Staton notched one of her 11 strikeouts to escape the inning.

The Colonels finally struck in the fifth when Rachel Moore drew a bases loaded walk to even the game at 1-1. In the sixth, Gaspard delivered a single to left center, plating Guidry for the Colonels' first lead of the night. The advantage would be short lived though as the Roadrunners were finally able to break through again against Moulder, using three hits in the bottom half to knot the game at 2-all.

In the seventh, Miller started a two-out rally for Nicholls with a base hit, followed by a single by Angeles. Guidry, batting ninth in the lineup, then drove a pitch to center to give Nicholls a 3-2 lead. However, UTSA sent the game into extras on a solo homer by Caitlyn Ivy, who led the Roadrunners with three hits.

After the teams came up empty in the eighth, Nicholls loaded the bases with two outs after hits by Miller, Angeles and Bertot. With no where to put Ray, who was walked three times in the game, UTSA was forced to pitch to the senior and she came through with the game-winning single, driving in two runs. Nicholls tacked on another run on the play before Bennett closed the door for her first save of the season.

While the teams combined for 27 hits on the night, they also left 30 runners stranded on base. Morgan Luska (4-7) suffered the loss for UTSA, giving up a pair of runs on four of the hits.