THIBODAUX, La. – After going 15 innings without a run in Friday's opening 3-0 loss to Abilene Christian, the Nicholls State University softball team scored 13 runs in the second inning of nightcap, fueled by a grand slam and a three-run homer by
Moriah Strother, as the Colonels split their doubleheader with a 13-0 run-rule victory at Swanner Field.
Strother, one of three seniors on the Colonels' roster, started the scoring in the decisive inning with a grand slam over the right-center wall. After Nicholls pushed the lead to 10-0, she capped the frame with a 3-run homer to center.
Freshman
Alexis LaBure (7-4) took care of the rest, tossing 5.0 shutout innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters. All 11 of her Ks came in the first four innings before she forced three straight groundouts to seal the win in the fifth. She allowed just three hits in the victory.
Nicholls finished with 12 hits, getting two-hit efforts from
Samantha Mracich,
Kali Clement, and
Kasey Frederick - who had a two-run base hit in the second. Mracich also drove in a run, and
Kelsey Miller had an RBI triple down the left field line.
In game one, reigning Southland Conference co-Pitchers of the Week
Megan Landry and Hannah Null showed they were deserving of the award, as each tossed 14 shutout innings. ACU finally got to Landry (14-6) with a solo home run by Holley Neese. Three batters later, Brianna Barnhill made it a 3-0 game with a homer to left.
Null (11-9) retired the Colonels in order in the bottom half for a complete game, 15-inning shutout. She racked up 11 strikeouts and walked three.
Nicholls had 10 hits against Null but left an astounding 16 runners on base. The Colonels stranded two runners in the seventh and had the bases loaded in the ninth and 13th innings, but could not muster a run. The first three batters reached in the 13th before Null got out of it with a fielder's choice, a strikeout, and a groundout to end the threat.
Landry was just as impressive, tossing 14.1 innings with 14 strikeouts – matching her career high. She surrendered one hit through eight innings before finishing with seven allowed. Neese had three of the hits, including doubles in the ninth and 12th innings.
Clement and
Jewel Lara led Nicholls with three hits apiece. Clement was the only Colonel with an extra-base hit against Null, doubling in the fourth.
UP NEXT
Saturday's series finale is scheduled for noon. Before the game, the program will have a field dedication to honor the Swanner Family for their generosity towards the new Swanner Field. It will also be the team's annual Pink Game, sponsored by the Cancer Center of Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to help raise breast cancer awareness.
