THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University softball team will begin its 2018 season in the Black and Gold Tournament, hosted by Alabama State, Friday morning in Montgomery, Alabama.

Nicholls was scheduled to open the season last weekend in the Lion Classic, but weather forced the tournament to be canceled. 

The Colonels will play Fort Wayne (12 p.m.) and Appalachian State (5 p.m.) on Friday before two games on Saturday against Holy Cross (9:30 a.m.) and Akron (5 p.m.). A matchup against Middle Tennessee on Sunday (12 p.m.) will close out the weekend for the Red and Gray.

LIVE STATS

Nicholls is coming off its second-straight 30-win season, finishing 37-20 overall and 19-8 in the Southland Conference last season. The Colonels went on to make the conference tournament in back-to-back years and earned runners-up.

HOLES TO FILL

Seventh-year head coach Angel Santiago will have to replace a few key players from last season's squad. Jackie Johnson closed out her career with an outstanding senior campaign in the circle, going 17-12 with a 2.51 ERA and 144 strikeouts. She and Megan Landry, who returns for her junior season, combined to make all but six starts in 2017. 

All-Southland honorees Brooke Morris (second base) and Jessica Taylor (designated player) also graduated, as did Haley Stevenson (third base). Morris led the trio with a .290 batting average, which was fifth-best on the team last year.

PITCHING

Landry was named All-Southland Third Team last season after going 16-8 with a 2.68 ERA and 149 strikeouts, which ranked third in the Southland. While Landry was solid during the regular season, she stepped up big in the postseason, notching two victories in the circle and was named all-tournament.

Samantha Mracich also saw some time in the circle in her rookie season, going 3-0 with a 1.24 ERA. Mracich was also a second-team selection as an outfielder after ranking 19th in the NCAA in hits for a .393 batting average.

Joining the Colonel pitching staff this season will be junior college transfer, Amanda Holliday. A native of Denham Springs, Louisiana, Holliday excelled at Jones County JC with a 26-7 record in her two seasons. 

INFIELD

Headlining the infielders is two-time All-Southland selection Amanda Gianelloni. She started all 57 games at shortstop as a sophomore and posted a .322 batting average. Gianelloni was one of the team's top run producers, driving in 31 and had three homers. Kasey Frederick, who was a First-Team selection at first base, led the offense with 33 RBIs, seven home runs and hit .303 on the season.

Behind the plate, senior Moriah Strother and junior Veronica Villafranco split the duties. Villafranco followed up her rookie season with another solid campaign, batting .284 with 21 RBIs and was an All-Tournament honoree. Junior Gretchen Morgan also earned all-tournament and started at first base, hitting .235 in 25 games played.

OUTFIELD

Mracich heads the returnees in the outfield, along with Frederick, who played the last third of the season in center, and sophomore Brooklyn Devine. Mracich was one of the Colonels' top base stealers, finishing with 16 and had a team-high 40 runs scored. Devine, who played in left field, cranked out 30 hits for a .303 average.

NEWCOMERS

Nicholls welcomes 13 newcomers to this year's squad, which includes Julia Bailey who sat out last season as a transfer from Ball State. Along with Holliday, Mallery Marino transferred in from the junior college ranks after playing at Ranger in her freshman season, and Thibodaux native Kali Clement returned home after playing at Division II Spring Hill College.

The 2018 roster is rounded out by nine first-year students.

SOCIAL MEDIA

For the latest news on the Colonel Softball team, follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_SB. 


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