HATTIESBURG, Miss.  – Runs came early and often for the Nicholls State University softball team as they recorded 18 hits and cruised to a 20-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State Saturday afternoon in the Black and Gold Invitational.
 
Nicholls (7-2) scored six runs in the first and added nine in the second. In the third, the Colonels were held scoreless but put an exclamation point on the game with a five-run fourth, highlighted by a grand slam from Elexus Trenkle.
 
In the circle, Megan Landry allowed just two hits in four innings of work and struck out five. Taylor Hastings pitched the fifth and fanned one to keep the shutout.
 
Samantha Mracich and Amanda Gianelloni led the Colonels with four hits each. Gianelloni was 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBIs, and the sophomore started the Colonels' big second inning with a 2-run homer. Sydney Bourg also chipped in with a bases-clearing triple in the second to help fuel the nine-run frame.  
 
After adding a run in the fourth to make the score 16-0, the Colonels loaded the bases and Trenkle delivered the team's second grand slam of the season for the commanding lead. The run total was four shy of the program record of 24, set in 1997 against Alcorn State.
 
UP NEXT
The Colonels will play two games against Southern Miss Sunday to wrap up the weekend. The first is a continued suspended game from Friday night, where rain stopped play in the fifth inning with USM leading 2-1. After playing the final innings, Nicholls and Southern Miss will play their regular scheduled Sunday game immediately after.
 
Southern Miss Softball Complex   |   Hattiesburg, Mississippi   l   LIVE STATS
Saturday, Feb. 19 – 10 a.m. – @ Southern Miss (USM leads 2-1 in the 5th)
Saturday, Feb. 19 – 12 p.m. – @ Southern Miss
 
For the latest news on the Nicholls softball team, follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_SB.