BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Nicholls State University softball team scored three runs in the first inning, but that would be all the offense the Colonels received as Murray State handed Nicholls an 11-3 loss on Sunday afternoon in the Samford Softball Classic.
 
The Colonels finished the weekend with a 1-3 record, dropping their overall mark to 6-4. Nicholls will return to the diamond on Tuesday, Feb. 17 as they host No. 24 South Alabama. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Nicholls tallied seven hits in the loss, led by Kayla Prater and Alexis Huss with two each. Huss drove in all three runs for the Colonels after she hit a 3-run home run in the opening frame. Huss leads the Colonels with two homers on the season.
 
Murray State answered in the top of the third with its own 3-run shot coming off the bat of Shelby Miller. In the fourth, the Racers started the inning with a triple and broke the tie with an RBI single. Miller then struck again, sending the first pitch she saw from Jackie Johnson over the right field wall for a 2-run homer.
 
Murray State (6-3) tacked on five more runs in the final three innings, including another 3-spot in the sixth inning to make the final.
 
Johnson was tagged with the loss, dropping her record to 2-2 on the year. She allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits and struck out three. Hannah Haydel pitched the final two innings, allowing three earned on four hits.