THIBODAUX, La. – With only nine conference games remaining, the Nicholls State University softball team will make its final push in the Southland Conference title race as the Colonels take on rival Northwestern State for a three-game road series at Lady Demon Diamond.
GAMEDAY INFO
Nicholls (29-15, 13-5 SLC) at Northwestern State (18-26-1, 8-10 SLC)
Natchitoches, Louisiana – Lady Diamond Field
Friday, April 21 – 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 22 – 12 p.m.
Saturday, April 22 – 2 p.m.
Live Stats
FIRST PITCH
- Nicholls looks to rebound from dropping two of three games in its last series against first-place McNeese. The Colonels sit at 13-5 in league play and are 3.0 games behind the Cowgirls. After falling in two of three games against Nicholls, Abilene Christian swept its series last weekend and is in second with a 15-3 mark, and Lamar is a game behind Nicholls at 12-6. The Colonels and McNeese still have to face Lamar, while ACU does not play either team.
- The Colonels came away with a 5-3 victory at Louisiana Tech in their last outing Wednesday night. Nicholls had just six hits in the win, but were able to produce enough scoring to snap a two-game skid in the series against the Lady Techsters.
Jackie Johnson picked up the win in relief while freshman
Samantha Mracich extended her hitting streak to 10 games with a run-scoring single in the sixth.
- The Lady Demons head into the series fighting for a postseason berth as they are currently in eighth place. NSU helped its case by taking the last series against Southeastern Louisiana, two games to one. It was the second straight series win for the Lady Demons, who were the only team to beat McNeese in conference before Nicholls knocked off the Cowgirls in the opener.
STORYLINES
- Nicholls has been sound in all three phases as they head into the series ranked first in the Southland in fielding percentage (.975) and second in batting average (.283) and ERA (2.38). The Colonels have just 29 errors on the season and have turned in 22 flawless performances in the field this year.
- The Colonels' two starting pitchers, senior
Jackie Johnson and sophomore
Megan Landry, will be looking to bounce back after a rough end to the series against McNeese. Each still ranks in the top 10 of the Southland in ERA while Johnson is third in opponent batting average at .214.
- Leadoff hitter
Samantha Mracich singled in her final at-bat at Louisiana Tech to extend her hitting streak to 10 games. Mracich leads the Southland with 60 hits and is second in batting at .397.
- NSU will be looking to avenge a sweep by the Colonels last season, which included 1-0 no-hit victory by Nicholls. The Colonels have swept seven opponents since the start of last year, but only one has come on the road (AMCC '16).
SCOUTING THE LADY DEMONS
-NSU is batting .257 (8th) as a team and has a 4.03 ERA (9th). The Lady Demons have won three of their last four series, with the lone loss coming to McNeese.
- The Lady Demon offense is fueled Kellye Kincannon with a .287 average, 10 home runs and 37 RBIs. She ranks second in the league in RBIs and slugging percentage (.662).
- 2015 Freshman/Pitcher of the Year Mikayla Brown heads the pitching staff with a 10-11 record and 3.53 ERA. Brown missed the 2016 campaign with an ACL injury, but has been solid in her return with 97 strikeouts in 135 innings pitched.
UP NEXT
The Colonels close out their home schedule with a three-game series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 28 and 29. Friday night's opener will be the team's annual Strike Out Cancer Game while Saturday is Senior Day.
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