MOBILE, Ala. – Brooke Morris and
Haley Parkerson combined for seven hits and five RBIs against No. 22 South Alabama, but the rest of the lineup was held to just one hit as the Colonels fell, 11-7, in non-conference action on Wednesday night at Jaguar Field.
Nicholls (22-15) and South Alabama (28-7) slugged it out in the first two innings as USA held a slim 5-4 lead. The Jaguars would score two runs each in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take an 11-4 advantage before Nicholls pieced together a late three-run rally in the seventh.
Morris paced Nicholls at the plate, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs. The sophomore preseason All-Southland honoree has been on a terror over the last 10 games, batting .457 with eight runs scored and six RBIs. Parkerson finished 3-for-4 at the leadoff spot and
Jessica Taylor accounted for the other hit.
Jackie Johnson (5-7) took the loss, going 4.0 innings with seven earned runs on seven hits and walked five.
Taylor Hastings pitched 0.2 innings and
Hannah Haydel tossed 1.1, with both giving up two earned runs.
The Colonels struck first when Parkerson led off the game with a double and Morris brought her home on a single. But the Jaguars tagged Johnson for four runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Kaitlyn Griffith.
Nicholls quickly answered with three runs in the second, started by a two-run double from Parkerson. Two batters later, Morris singled to center, driving Parkerson home to make the score 4-4. However, USA would retake the lead in the bottom half on an infield single by Stephanie Pilkington.
In the fourth, the Jaguars took advantage of three walks to push their lead to 7-4. A solo home run and a bases loaded walk in the fifth stretched the lead to 9-4, and in the sixth, a two-run double by Emily Messer made the score 11-4.
In the seventh, Nicholls scored three runs, one on a single by Morris and a two-run error, to make the final.
USA finished with 10 hits, led by Messer and Amanda Minahan with three each. Farish Beard (6-2) was tabbed with the win, tossing 4.0 innings with four earned runs on five hits. Kalen McGill earned a save, allowing one earned run on three hits in 3.0 innings. The duo combined for 12 strikeouts and just two walks.
Nicholls will return to action this weekend at Incarnate Word for a three-game series. The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday at 1 p.m., with a single game on Saturday scheduled for 1 p.m. as well.
