Nicholls softball continues conference play against SFA

The Nicholls State University softball team opened conference play this past weekend with a three-game sweep of Houston Baptist University.

Junior Sydney Bourg, in her first season at Nicholls after transferring from LSU, hit her first collegiate home run to end the Friday night red-out game, which sent the Colonels home with an 8-0 run-rule victory.

“I knew I hit it well, so it was either going to hit the fence or go out,” Bourg said. “But once I rounded first I knew [it was out].”

Sophomore pitcher Megan Landry started and won the first two games of the series, striking out 16 and scattering eight hits and a walk over 12 innings pitched. The Colonels closed the series out by winning both games of the Saturday doubleheader 6-1 and 5-1.

“It’s a great way to start off conference and I hope that we continue to feed off that confidence,” Landry said regarding the team’s 3-0 start.

Landry typically throws an abundance of pitches to keep hitters off balance, relying heavily on her curveball to put hitters away. Her 7-pitch arsenal includes a screwball, changeup and fastball among others.

“I’m throwing bullpens, tweaking a few things, and focusing really hard on mechanics,” Landry said on getting prepared for their upcoming weekend series.

The Colonels will travel to Nacogdoches, Texas to play a three-game set against Stephen F. Austin State University. SFA lost nine of their first 11 games to start off the season, but have gone 6-5 since then.

“We’ve played all these teams before, so we know what to expect; coming out 3-0 just kind of sets the tone for how we will play the rest of the season,” senior outfielder Jessica Taylor said. “I think we need to maintain our confidence, just keep working hard and let things fall into place.”

The left-handed hitting Taylor has sparked the Colonels offense by hitting at a .418 clip since being inserted into the starting lineup in late February. Over her last eight games, Taylor is batting .350 with six walks and six runs scored.

“I’m focusing on letting the ball get deeper and extending my hands instead of pulling off because [outside pitches] that’s all I’m going to see this weekend,” Taylor said.

Bourg said she watches game videos of the team on YouTube so she can pick out little things to work on in practice.

“I just see what I can fix with my slapping, fielding and everything and I think everyone else is doing that as well,” Bourg said. “Coming out with a sweep, we’re very confident and just ready to see what else we can do against different opponents.”
The first pitch against Stephen F. Austin State University is scheduled for 3 pm tomorrow in Nacogdoches, Texas.