Montgomery, Ala. - The Nicholls State University softball team opened the Black & Gold Tournament, hosted by Alabama State, with a pair of wins Friday to extend their winning streak to three games. 

Game 1 -- Nicholls 6, EKU 5

The Colonels extended their winning streak to three games with a Friday sweep against EKU and Alabama State.

Against the other Colonels of EKU, Nicholls let a 3-0 slip away after allowing five runs to score in the top of the seventh. But the Red and Gray rallied in the bottom half, tying the score at 5-5 on a 2-run double by Melise Gossen before Samantha Gwiazda won the game on a walk-off single.

Nicholls totaled 10 hits with Kennedy Hebert leading with a 3-for-3 game. Gossen had two and drove in two, and Gwiazda also had two RBIs. 

Paris Lehman (2-0) earned the win with a complete game, allowing five runs on six hits and struck out five. 

Neither team scored until the Nicholls fifth when Hebert doubled in Scout Blades. In the sixth, Syndee Shelton made it 2-0 with an RBI single and Gwiazda drove in another on a sacrifice fly. 

In the seventh, EKU used a sac fly, two run-scoring doubles and an RBI single to even the game. 


Game 2 -- Nicholls 7, Alabama State 2

Nicholls led 6-0 after four innings and it proved to be more than enough for Brittney Turner as she struck out five in complete game victory over Alabama State.

On offense, Alexa Poche' went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, highlighted by a 3-run homer in the fourth that doubled the Colonel lead. Gossen added two hits as the Colonels totaled 10.

Lulu Vazquez got things started with a 2-run single in the first. Nicholls added another run in the second via an ASU error.

After Poche' homered, ASU scored in the fifth but Poche' got the run back with an RBI single in the sixth. Alabama State scored one more to make the final.

Turner improved to 4-4 with the win, allowing two earned runs on nine hits.