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THIBODAUX, La. – Led by another solid outing from senior Hannah Haydel and clutch hitting by freshman Amanda Gianelloni, the Nicholls State University softball team won the first game of its Senior Day doubleheader against Lamar, 5-4 in nine innings, but the visitors blanked the Colonels in a 1-0 eight-inning affair in the night cap at the Colonel Softball Complex.
 
The Colonels (38-15, 21-5) entered the final day trailing McNeese State for first-place by 0.5 games in the standings. Both teams won their opener on Saturday to keep the deficit the same, but the Cowgirls went on to clinch the regular season title with a sweep of Central Arkansas before the conclusion of Nicholls' second game.
 
Nicholls will enter the Southland Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed, earning a first-round bye. The Colonels will take on the winner of No. 3 Lamar and No. 6 Sam Houston, Wednesday night at 4 p.m. The tournament will be hosted by McNeese at Cowgirl Diamond in Lake Charles.
 
Game 1 – Nicholls 5, Lamar 4 (9 innings)
 
The Colonels erased two 2-run deficits, including one in the seventh inning as Amanda Gianelloni drove in a pair of runs on a base hit up the middle with two outs, and the freshman came through again in ninth with a bases-loaded single to give Nicholls a walk off 5-4 victory over Lamar.
 
Nicholls found itself down early in the game after Sable Hankins hit a two-run homer that just cleared the center field wall. It was just the fourth home run allowed by Hannah Haydel (22-7) all season, who went on to pitch all nine innings for her 22nd win of the season.
 
The Colonels answered in the fourth when freshman Kasey Frederick sent a rocket out of the park to even the game at 2-all. But Lamar regained the lead after using a total of three hits in the sixth and seventh to plate two runs. Jenna Holland had an RBI groundout in the sixth, and Maddy Myers delivered a RBI single in the seventh.
 
In the bottom half of the seventh, the Colonels quickly displayed their never-say-die attitude with back-to-back singles by Haley Stevenson and pinch-hitter Gretchen Morgan. Danielle Phillips moved the runners over on a sac bunt, and a groundout by Haley Parkerson set up Gianelloni's late-inning heroics. On a 2-1 pitch, the Napoleonville native ripped the ball up the middle to drive in two to tie the game at 4-4, sending the Colonel faithful into a frenzy.
 
After neither team could push a run across the plate in the eighth, the seniors for the Colonels stepped up in the ninth to load the bases for Gianelloni. Kayla Prater walked to lead off the frame, and Phillips and Parkerson delivered back-to-back singles. Gianelloni crushed the first pitch she saw to right center, giving Nicholls a 5-4 victory.
 
Haydel was touched up for 10 hits in the win, which was her first game of the season allowing double figures in hits. She finished with four strikeouts and walked one. At the plate, Phillips, Gianelloni and Stevenson each had two hits.
 
Ciara Luna (15-7) suffered her second straight loss, allowing five runs on 12 hits in eight innings. Brynn Baca paced Lamar's offense with a 3-for-4 day.
 
Game 2 – Lamar 1, Nicholls 0
 
The Colonels came up just short of ending the regular season on a 14-game winning streak as Lamar (32-20, 18-9) spoiled the finale with a 1-0 victory in eight innings.
 
Freshman Megan Landry (15-7) and Laura Napoli went pitch-for-pitch as they each tossed seven shutout innings. The Cardinals rallied with two outs in the eighth, started on a double by Sable Hankins. The next batter, Stephanie Meeuwsen, found a seam up the middle for the go-head run.
 
The lineup in the bottom half was the same for the Colonels as their seventh-inning rally in game one – Prater, Phillips and Parkerson – but the senior trio was held in check by Napoli as Lamar prevented Nicholls from its sixth conference sweep of the season.
 
Landry took the loss despite allowing just one earned run on five hits in eight innings of work. Napoli (8-7) also allowed five hits and did not issue a walk. Both pitchers finished with four punchouts.
 
Phillips, Parkerson, Frederick, Veronica Villafranco and Brooke Morris all had hits for the Colonels. Meeuwsen led LU with two hits and the lone RBI.