Jackie Johnson
1
HBU HBU 7-8
6
Winner Nicholls NICH 16-9
HBU HBU
7-8
1
Final
6
Nicholls NICH
16-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
HBU HBU 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 1
Nicholls NICH 0 0 1 1 1 3 X 6 11 1

W: Landry, Megan (9-4) L: Buenrostro, S. (3-2)

1
HBU HBU 7-9
5
Winner Nicholls NICH 17-9
HBU HBU
7-9
1
Final
5
Nicholls NICH
17-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
HBU HBU 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 2
Nicholls NICH 2 0 0 0 0 3 X 5 5 1

W: Johnson, Jackie (6-5) L: Mueller, Emily (3-6)

Game Recap: Softball |

Colonels sweep HBU to start conference play

THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University softball team used a pair of dominating performances from starting pitchers Megan Landry and Jackie Johnson to sweep Saturday's doubleheader and the series against HBU with 6-1 and 5-1 victories at the Colonel Softball Complex.
 
With the sweep, the Colonels improve to 17-9 overall and 3-0 in Southland play, while HBU falls to 7-9 and 0-3.
 
GAME 1 – Nicholls 6, HBU 1
 
Megan Landry struck out seven in a complete game effort and Samantha Mracich and Veronica Villafranco each drove in a pair of runs as the Colonels clinched the series against HBU with a 6-1 victory.
 
Landry made back-to-back starts against the Huskies and scattered six hits, with HBU's lone run coming off a solo home run in the second. Mracich doubled in a run to tie it up in the third and Nicholls finished the game with five unanswered for the win.
 
Mracich led the offense with three hits, while Jessica Taylor and Sydney Bourg each had two. The Colonels took the lead in the fourth on a base hit to left center from Bourg, which scored Taylor.
 
In the fifth, Taylor smacked a two-out single to right field which allowed Mracich to score from second. The Colonels then added three in the next inning when Veronica Villafranco had a pinch-hit single to center to drive in two. The frame was capped on run-scoring single by Mracich.
 
Landry issued no walks in the victory, improving to 9-4 on the season. In 12 innings pitched for the weekend, she struck out a total of 16 batters.
 
GAME 2 – Nicholls 5, HBU 1
 
Jackie Johnson tossed a two-hit gem and Kasey Frederick continued to swing a hot bat with a 3-run homer as the Colonels swept the Huskies with a 5-1 victory.
 
Nicholls was held to five hits in the win, with two coming from Amanda Gianelloni, and led just 2-1 heading into the sixth before Frederick smashed a pitch over the left field wall for a 3-run bomb. It was Frederick's third home run of the season, all coming in the last two weekends.
 
The Colonels jumped up to a 2-0 lead in the first with the help of two HBU errors. Brooke Morris scored on a wild throw to third and Gianelloni made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly.
 
HBU used a Colonel gaffe in the outfield to cut the lead to 2-1 in the third. Frederick misplayed a routine fly to left and it allowed the Huskies to pull within one.
 
But Frederick made up for the error in a big way after her home run gave Nicholls a 5-1 advantage. In the seventh, the Huskies recorded their second hit of the day off of Johnson, but stranded two runners to end the game.
 
Along with allowing just two hits, Johnson (6-5) struck out five batters, but walked six. Her counterpart, Emily Mueller, tossed all six innings for HBU and was charged with four earned runs.
 
UP NEXT
 
Nicholls will hit the road for its next series, taking on Stephen F. Austin. The opener is scheduled for Friday, March 17 at 3 p.m.