THIBODAUX, La. – Another outstanding effort in the circle paired with walk-off hits by freshman
Jewel Lara led the Nicholls State University softball team to a series sweep against Northwestern State as the Colonels took Saturday's doubleheader with 8-0 and 1-0 victories at Swanner Field.
With the wins, the Colonels stay in first place as they improved to 32-13 overall and 15-6 in the Southland. Stephen F. Austin and McNeese also swept their series, putting the teams in a three-way tie.
Lara secured the wins in both contests, hitting a walk-off double in the fifth in the opener for an 8-0 run-rule victory. With the teams scoreless in Game 2 in the bottom of the seventh,
Corynn Major led off the inning with a triple and Lara delivered again with a base hit to right for the sweep.
Alexis LaBure (10-4) flirted with a perfect game in the opener, allowing just a single with one out in the fourth. Combined with her no-hitter on Tuesday, she went 10.1 innings before surrendering a hit. In five innings of work, she struck out six to surpass 100 for the season. She also did not issue a walk, facing just one over the minimum.
The Colonels piled up 13 hits, led by 3-for-3 games from Lara and
Moriah Strother, who continued her home run barrage with a 2-run shot in the second inning. It was her sixth homer of the season, all coming since April 6. She also had an RBI single in the third for a 5-0 lead.
Kali Clement came up big earlier in the third, driving in two on a triple, and Lara made it 6-0 with an RBI double in the fourth.
LaBure's lone hit allowed came off the bat of Julie Rawls. With Nicholls leading by six in the top of the fifth, Rawls took a 3-1 pitch through the right side for a single.
In the bottom half, the Colonels used base hits by Strother and
Corynn Major to set up an RBI single from Miller. The next batter, Lara, doubled home the game-winning run.
Mikayla Brown (9-7) suffered the loss for NSU, lasting 2.2 innings with two earned runs on five hits.
For game two,
Megan Landry (18-7) tossed another gem, but NSU's Micaela Bouvier (12-8) also kept the Colonels off the board until the final inning. Landry scattered five hits and struck out three in seven innings of work.
Lara and Major each had two hits, capped by their single and triple in the seventh.
Amanda Gianelloni also tripled to lead off the sixth - extending her hitting streak to 12 games - but Bouvier got out of the jam with three straight outs. Bouvier was able to escape a few times, getting an out after walking the bases loaded in the fourth and left two runners on in the fifth.
NSU only put runners in scoring position twice against Landry. In the third, the Lady Demons had a pair of one-out singles before Landry got a lineout to short and
Kasey Frederick chased down a foul ball in left to end the inning. In the sixth, a bunt single and a stolen base by Kaitlyn St. Clair put her on second, but Landry forced Rawls to pop out to keep the game scoreless.
With the sweep, the Colonels are 15-2 at home this season. Over the last three campaigns, Nicholls has a combined 46-6 record in Thibodaux.
UP NEXT
The Colonels head to Texas for their final road series of the season, taking on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Friday's (April 27) opener is scheduled for 6 p.m.
