THIBODAUX, La. – Squaring off against one of the hottest teams in the conference, the Nicholls State University softball team pushed Southeastern Louisiana to extra innings in Saturday's opening game of a doubleheader and had a chance to make a comeback in the second matchup, but the Colonels fell in both games, 5-3 (8 inn.) and 7-4 at Swanner Field.
With the losses, Nicholls slipped to 8-16, 1-11 SLC while Southeastern upped its record to 20-13 and 10-2.
In the first game, the Colonels rallied from a 3-1 deficit with a run in the sixth and seventh inning to force extras. Southeastern scored two runs in the eighth to clinch the series victory.
Kennedy Hebert had three of the Colonels' seven hits and delivered the game-tying RBI in the seventh on a double.
Skylar Hamilton drove in the run in the sixth on a pinch-hit triple.
Tayrn Westbrook took the loss, tossing 2.0 innings of relief. She allowed two earned on two hits and walked one.
SLU used another homer by Audrey Greely to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth. With the game tied in the eighth, Aeriyl Mass came through with a 2-run single up the middle.
For the second game, Nicholls scored again in the seventh to trim the deficit to 7-4 and loaded the bases before the Lady Lions escaped with the series sweep.
The Colonels matched their season high of 11 hits, led by a 3-for-4 game by
Melise Gossen who had an RBI single in the seventh.
Ashlyn Reavis and
Alexa Poche' finished with two hits apiece.
A 3-run second by SLU put Nicholls behind early but the Colonels answered with three in the third. Hebert doubled in a run and Gossen and Poche' followed with RBI singles to tie it at 3-3.
The lead did not last; however, as the Lady Lions plated three in the fourth.
After SLU tacked on one more in the seventh, Nicholls got the run back on a Gossen base hit with two down. Poche' followed with a single to load the bases, but Ellie DuBoiss struck out
Samantha Gwiazda to end the game.
Westbrook (2-4) took the loss again, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits in 3.1 innings.
ON DECK
The Colonels will step out of conference with a Tuesday matchup at South Alabama. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
