Final Stats HOUSTON  – The Nicholls State University softball team closed out play in the Houston Invite on Sunday, falling to the host Cougars, 12-4, in five innings.

Freshman Taylor Hastings (1-1) took the loss, pitching 3.2 innings with nine earned runs on nine hits. Hastings limited the high-powered Houston offense to just two hits as the teams were scoreless through three innings, but the Cougars tagged her for two home runs in an eight-hit , nine-run fourth.

Nicholls (5-11) answered with three runs in its next at-bat, capped on a two-run homer by Morgan Wilson. In the inning, the Colonels had three of their five hits for the game, getting singles by Brittany Marcet and Camille Rozas.

Leading 9-4 in the fifth, Houston (9-2) capitalized on two Colonel errors to plate three more runs. The Colonels were then retired in order to end the game.

Colleen Levy and Brooke Morris added singles for Nicholls, which fell to 1-4 on the weekend.

Nicholls will play its second home game of the season, hosting South Alabama on Wednesday, Feb. 25. First pitch at the Colonel Softball Complex is scheduled for 5 p.m.