HAMMOND, La. - The Nicholls State University softball team won 8-2 in the series opener against Southeastern but could not hang on to a 3-0 lead in the nightcap, falling 5-4 in nine innings, as the Colonels split their doubleheader against the Lady Lions on Friday at North Oak Park.
The teams will wrap up the series on Saturday at noon.
Game 1 - Nicholls 8, Southeastern 2
Alexa Poche' hit a 2-run homer in the first inning to set the tone for not only Game 1, but for an impressive day for the Colonel left fielder. She had two hits, three RBIs and three runs scored in the victory and with Nicholls leading 2-1 in the fourth, she avoided a tag at the plate and the play was No. 2 on SportsCenter Top 10 plays.
Nicholls (23-21, 10-10 SLC) never trailed in the contest which ended a seven-game skid in the series against SLU (38-11, 13-4 SLC). The Colonels pushed across three runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Colonels had eight hits in the win with two-hit efforts by Poche',
Lilianna Robledo and
Claire Sisco. Robledo was 2-for-3 with an RBI in just her second start of the season.
Audrey McNeill earned the win, tossing 4.0 innings with three strikeouts and three walks. She scattered six hits, allowing just an RBI infield single in the second.
Molly VandenBout threw the final three innings for the save. She gave up four hits and one earned run.
VandenBout also produced at the plate as she and Poche' led the fourth off with base hits. Following a sacrifice by
Melise Gossen,
Brynne Songy hit a grounder to third. The Lady Lions threw to home to get Poche', but she maneuvered around the tag for a 3-1 lead. Nicholls added another run on a
MaKynli Miller groundout before Robledo snuck a blooper inside the right field line for a 4-1 advantage.
In the fifth, the Red and Gray had only one hit but scored three runs. Two sacrifices brought home a pair of runners and another scored via an error.
A leadoff double by SLU's Lexi Johnson in the sixth made way for the final run of the game.
Game 2 - Southeastern 5, Nicholls 4 (9 inn.)
A three-run third for the Lady Lions tied the game and Southeastern went on to win in extra innings.
Molly Yoo pitched all eight-plus innings for the Colonels, allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out five. KK Ladner notched the win for SLU, throwing 4.2 shutout innings in relief. She gave up two of the Colonels' six hits in the game.
Erin Krause accounted for a third of the hits, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. After Poche' tripled and scored on a VandenBout single in the second, Krause delivered a clutch 2-run single in the third for a 3-0 Colonel lead.
But SLU countered with three runs in the bottom half. Maria Detillier highlighted the frame with a 2-run single.
The Lady Lions took their first lead in the fourth on an RBI triple by Cam Goodman. But once again, Krause came through with an RBI double off of Ladner to plate Sisco in the fifth, knotting the game at 4-4.
Ladner kept the Colonels in check for the rest of the outing. After striking out the side in the sixth, she allowed a one-out double to
Abby Andersen. But the Lady Lions ended the threat after a hard liner to short and a groundout.
Neither team got anything going in the eighth. Poche' ended the inning with highlight running catch in the left-field corner.
In the bottom of the ninth, a leadoff single by Colleen Kulivan set up the walkoff win. Following a sacrifice, Detillier roped a single up the middle for the game-winning run.
The game was the Colonels' sixth extra-inning contest in conference play this season. The loss dropped their record to 3-3 in those games.
