TROY, Ala. - After a rough opening day of the Troy Invitational, the Nicholls State University softball team bounced back with strong showings against Eastern Kentucky and Troy, but the Colonels were unable to come away with a win as they fell 3-2 and 10-9, respectively, on Saturday at the Troy Softball Complex.

Nicholls (1-8) will wrap up the weekend on Sunday with a rematch against EKU. First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.

Game 1 - EKU 3, Nicholls 2 

Eastern Kentucky scored three unearned runs in the first two innings and it turned out to be just enough in a 3-2 victory over Nicholls.

Trailing by the same score in the seventh, Nicholls got a leadoff double by Samantha Gwiazda and looked on its way of tying it up. But with two on and one down, EKU forced two groundouts to secure the win.

Nicholls scored its first run of the game on a Maya Zavala sacrifice fly in the second inning. Kennedy Hebert followed with a run-scoring hit up the middle in the fifth. 

Despite taking the loss, Brittney Turner threw all seven innings and allowed no earned runs on five hits.

Game 2 - Troy 10, Nicholls 9

The Colonels fell behind 8-2 to the host Trojans before a big five-run fifth tied the game. However, Troy answered in the bottom half with a run-scoring sac fly and went on to hand Nicholls its seventh straight loss.

Gwiazda had two hits for the offense while Shelby Devin drove in three. Although she did not record a hit, Lulu Vazquez reached base and scored three times.

Troy wasted no time in taking the lead, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. Nicholls answered with two in the second, scoring on a wild pitch and a Shelby Devine double. 

The Trojans then chased Taryn Westbrook out of the game in the second frame. She left after walking in a run, but Paris Lehman came in and walked in another. Two batters later, Katelynn de Leon delivered a 2-run single for an 6-2 lead. 

After Troy scored two more runs in the third, Nicholls countered with two in the fourth. Zavala stroked a double for a run and Devine added her second RBI via a fielder's choice.

The big fifth inning was fueled by four hits, but it was a nine-pitch bases loaded walk by Zavala that started the scoring. Gwiazda had an RBI on an infield single and following a Devine sacrifice fly, Danielle Duplay tied it up at 9-9 with a 2-run double.

Troy pushed the winning run across on a sacrifice fly in the bottom half. The Colonels never posed a threat the rest of the game as the next six batters were retired.