THIBODAUX, La. - After giving up six runs in the first inning, the Nicholls State University softball team put together its own six-run frame in the fifth to pick up an 8-6 victory over Southern Miss on Wednesday night on Swanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park.
The Colonels (16-20) scored in the first and added a run in the fourth before the decisive rally. Nicholls had five hits in the inning with
Molly VandenBout putting the Colonels ahead with a two-run single with two outs.
Averi Paden allowed three hits in the final two stanzas before securing the Colonels' sixth straight win.
Paden (5-6) was outstanding in relief, scattering eight hits in 7.0 innings. She took over in the circle in the first after Southern Miss (18-18) scored six runs against
Molly Yoo, going up 6-0 after Jana Lee hit a grand slam with no outs. But Paden kept USM off the board the rest of the way, pushing her scoreless streak to 13 innings.
Nicholls tallied double-digits in hits for the sixth consecutive outing, totaling 12 in the victory.
Reagan Heflin went 3-for-4 while
Erin Krause,
Carmella Muccilli and
Laylin Sturm added two each.Â
Brynne Songy started the scoring for the Colonels in the first with an RBI on a groundout. Then in the fourth, Krause drove in Sturm on a single through the left side.
Trailing 6-2 in the fifth, Heflin sparked the rally with a leadoff double. After a walk and a sac bunt, the Colonels managed to push across all six runs with two outs. Muccilli dropped a single in the outfield for two runs, then came around to score on a Sturm double. After two USM pitching changes, Sturm scored on a wild pitch to even the score at 6-6.
Facing a full count, VandenBout ripped a single to left for her lone hit of the night which gave Nicholls an 8-6 advantage.Â
In the seventh, Southern Miss started its own two-out rally with a double and a single, but Paden forced a flyout to leave the tying runs on base.
BrookLynn Lee (0-2) was tagged with the loss, allowing two runs with two walks and a wild pitch.Â
ON DECK
Nicholls will head to Texas for a three-game series this weekend at East Texas A&M.
