HAMMOND, La. - The No. 3 seed Nicholls State University softball team scored six runs in the first inning and went on to run-rule No. 6 Stephen F. Austin with an 11-1 victory in the Southland Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon at North Oak Park.

With the victory, Nicholls (31-23) will take on No. 2 Southeastern in the championship round of the Hammond Bracket at 4 p.m. on Saturday. A win by SLU would secure the bracket title and if the Colonels win, the teams will square off for the title at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

After tossing a shutout in Friday's win over HCU, Molly VandenBout threw another complete game in the victory over SFA (28-28). She gave up a leadoff homer to Mikaelah Burkland but cruised the rest of the way, allowing just two more hits while striking out three.

Nicholls had nine hits and took advantage of four Lumberjack errors, with two coming in the first inning. VandenBout helped herself with an RBI infield single to tie the game at 1-1, then Riley Rutherford drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. A wild pitch made it 3-1 before Ally Mooneyham beat out an infield hit for another run. The final two runs scored via a Claire Sisco fielder's choice. 

Then in the second, an SFA error allowed two more runs to score for an 8-1 Colonel lead.

Needing one run to put the run-rule into play in the fourth, Carmella Muccilli smoked a single over the shortstop to push the advantage to 9-1. Then the final SFA error allowed two more runs to come across the plate. 

VandenBout gave up a two-out single before a groundout ended the game early. 

VandenBout and Muccilli each had two hits to lead the offense.  Reagan Hall took the loss for SFA, giving up four runs, one earned, before leaving the game in the first.