HAMMOND, La. – The Nicholls State University softball team went 2-0 in the Lion Classic on opening day on Friday thanks to two masterful pitching performances by senior Hannah Haydel and freshman Megan Landry.
 
Haydel tossed a four-hit shutout in an opening 2-0 win over Southern Illinois, and Landry pitched a no-hitter in her first career game with the Colonels in an 11-0 mercy-rule victory over Mississippi Valley State.
 
Nicholls (2-0) will have two more games on Saturday at North Oak Park, taking on Tennessee State (12 p.m.) and Buffalo (2:30 p.m.). The Colonels finish the weekend on Sunday against Tennessee-Martin (1 p.m.)
 
Game 1 – Nicholls 2, Southern Illinois 0
 
Hannah Haydel tossed a four-hit shutout and struck out seven, while Jessica Taylor drove in both runs to lift the Colonels to a 2-0 season-opening win over Southern Illinois.
 
Haydel (1-0) was magnificent in her senior debut, walking just one batter in seven innings of work. SIU's Savanna Dover (0-1) had a complete game three-hitter and fanned 10 Colonels; however, two of her five walks led to the games' only two runs.
 
With two down in the top of the second, Haley Stevenson came back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk. After stealing second, Taylor drove her home with a base hit to give Nicholls a 1-0 edge.
 
Danielle Phillips led off the fourth with a base hit, stole second and moved over to third on a groundout. Following another walk by Stevenson, Taylor hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Phillips to score from third.
 
Nursing a 2-0 lead, Haydel did not allow a hit in the third and fourth before running into trouble in the fifth.  Hanna Stam tallied a leadoff single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Haley Parkerson from left field. After a lineout to third, the Salukis caught another break as shortstop Amanda Gianelloni was charged with her second error of the day, putting runners at first and third. But the freshman from Napoleonville was able to quickly shake it off against the next batter as she started a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning, keeping the score at 2-0.
 
Haydel struck out the side in the sixth and allowed just a one-out single in the seventh before closing the door for the complete game shutout.
 
The 1 through 4 hitters struggled in the opener, combining to go 0-12 with eight strikeouts. Gianelloni drew a pair of walks in the win, as did Stevenson. Brooke Morris, who was second on the team in batting average last season, recorded the Colonels' other hit with a two-out single in the sixth.
 
Game 2 – Nicholls 11, Mississippi Valley State 0 (5 innings)
 
Freshman Megan Landry put together an impressive collegiate debut as she tossed five hitless innings and struck out seven as the Colonels run-ruled Mississippi Valley State, 11-0.
 
Landry (1-0) allowed just two base runners in the victory, issuing a walk in the first inning and another reached on an error in the second. From then on, the Pierre Part native retired the next 11 batters en route to the no-hitter.
 
The offense spotted Landry three runs in the first and exploded for seven runs in the third to put the run-rule into play. Nicholls added one more in the fourth before Landry ended the game with back-to-back strikeouts.
 
Nine Colonels registered a hit in the win, led by Phillips who was 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs. Alexis Huss drove in two runs, while Moriah Strother had two RBIs and two walks. Parkerson, Morris and Huss scored two runs each.
 
Landry came to Nicholls as a highly-touted recruit from Central Catholic. She was a four-time all-state honoree and was named Class 1A MVP in 2015 after leading her team to a state championship. She tossed five no-hitters alone in her senior season and had one perfect game.