CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Nicholls State University softball team reached the 20-win plateau while clinching their third series victory with a Friday doubleheader sweep at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, taking Game 1, 3-2, in eight innings before winning Game 2, 6-1.
The Colonels (20-13, 7-4 SLC) will go for their first series sweep on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for noon.
GAME 1 - Nicholls 3, AMCC 2 (8 innings)
After the Islanders scored in the bottom of the seventh to force extras,
Alexa Poche' delivered the go-ahead run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly as the Colonels took the opening game.
Abby Andersen continued to swing a hot bat, leading off the extra frame with a base hit. She then moved to third on an
Erin Krause double and scored on a Poche' flyout to left. In the bottom half,
Molly Yoo allowed a two-out walk before notching a strikeout to end the game.
Yoo struck out four in 2.0 innings for the victory but was unable to save the win for starter
Audrey McNeill. Facing her former team, McNeill allowed just one run on three hits in 6.0 innings of work. She left the game with a 2-1 lead before the Islanders rallied in the seventh.
Nicholls totaled seven hits off of Primrose Aholelei who tossed all eight innings for the Islanders. Krause was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored and Andersen finished 2-for-4.
AMCC jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI triple by Sidney Campion. Nicholls answered in the fourth on a
Molly VandenBout RBI single up the middle. Krause singled and stole second before moving over on a sacrifice, scoring to even it at 1-1.
The Colonels then took a 2-1 lead in the sixth thanks to a wild pitch.
Claire Sisco and Krause both singled in the inning before Aholelei allowed one to get away for the go-ahead run. But the lead was short-lived as the Islanders tagged Yoo for three hits in the seventh, tying the game on a two-out single by Paolina Baez.
The win in extras was the second in as many weekends for the Colonels. Nicholls had started the season 0-3 in extra innings before winning the last two.
GAME 2 - Nicholls 6, AMCC 1
A four-run fifth was more than enough for Colonel starter
Molly Yoo as Nicholls clinched the series victory with a 6-1 win in Game 2.
After earning the victory in the opener, Yoo came back and was outstanding with a complete game effort. She allowed just one unearned run and scattered four hits for her 10th win of the season.
Nicholls wasted no time in cracking the scoring column, taking a 1-0 advantage on a
Alexa Poche' RBI single. Andersen scored on the play after leading the game off with a base hit that extended her hitting streak to nine games. But a leadoff error in the bottom half resulted in an early Islander run.
The Colonels came up empty in their scoring opportunities in the second and fourth innings before a two-out error in the fifth let the flood gates open.
Melise Gossen followed with a single and the big hit came from VandenBout, who poked shot into right field for a 2-run triple. The Islanders then tried to throw out
Mckenzie Champagne on a steal and the ball trickled into the outfield, allowing another run to score.
Brynne Songy ended the crucial inning with an RBI single.
With Yoo on cruise control, Nicholls added one more run in the seventh. VandenBout doubled and scored on a fielder's choice to make the final.
The Colonels doubled up AMCC in hits, 8-4, with VandenBout and Songy totaling two each. Gabriella Torres accounted for three of the Islanders' four hits and drove in the lone run.
Sydney Hoyt suffered the loss in 5.0 innings. She allowed seven hits but only one of her five runs was earned.
