GULFPORT, Miss. – Hits were tough to come by for the Nicholls State University softball team on Saturday in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic as the Colonels were swept in their doubleheader, falling 4-1 to Memphis and 5-1 to Southern Miss.
The Colonels (10-6) wrap up play in the classic on Sunday morning against No. 24 Baylor. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Game 1 – Memphis 4, Nicholls 1 The Colonels struck first against Memphis with a run in the opening frame, but the Tigers scored four unanswered to defeat Nicholls 4-1.
Hannah Haydel (5-2) tossed all six innings for the Colonels, allowing two earned runs on five hits. Haydel turned in the Colonels' second straight double-digit strikeout effort as she fanned 11 batters, but one of her five walks and a wild pitch led to two runs for Memphis in the third.
Haydel also walked a batter in the fourth and sixth innings, and following errors by
Amanda Gianelloni at short, the Tigers scored in each frame to push the lead to 4-1. The Colonels were retired in order in the seventh to close out the game.
Nicholls finished with four hits, getting one each from
Danielle Phillips, Gianelloni,
Alexis Huss and
Haley Stevenson. Gianelloni drew one of her two walks in the first and came home on a double by Huss. But it would be the only run for the Colonels as Adriana Morgan (1-1) notched the win for Memphis, pitching a complete game with two strikeouts.
Game 2 – Southern Miss 5, Nicholls 1 The Colonel offense was limited to four hits for the second straight game and Southern Miss hit a pair of two-run home runs as the Golden Eagles handed Nicholls a 5-1 loss in the night cap of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic.
Brooke Morris,
Kasey Frederick and Phillips all tallied hits for the Red and Gray before Huss led off the seventh with her third home run of the season to prevent the shutout.
Megan Landry (5-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits in six innings. Four of the hits went for extra bases, including the pair of homers by the Golden Eagles.
The game was scoreless after three innings, but a leadoff single set up a two-run home run by Lauren Holifield. After tacking on another run in the fifth, USM took a 5-0 lead in the sixth on a two-run shot by Samantha Robles. Robles also pitched for the Golden Eagles, tossing all seven innings and struck out four.
Landry finished with four strikeouts and walked two.
Taylor Hastings pitched an inning of relief, retiring all three batters she faced.
