The Lady Colonels softball team split a double-header with the Birmingham Southern College Panthers Monday at the softball field. The Lady Colonels [16-10, 7-1] dropped the first game 6-9, but won the nightcap 3-0.

In the first game pitcher Alexandria Austin [1-3] received the loss after giving up six hits and seven runs in four innings of work.

Colonels pitcher Jessica Barksdale came in during the fifth inning to finish the game, allowing two runs on two hits, one unearned.

The Lady Colonels were led at the plate in the first game by third baseman Leah Peterson who was 3-3 with a double and three RBIs, and second baseman Rachel Pugh who was 2-3 with a run scored.

Peterson now has 35 doubles in her career at Nicholls and needs one more to tie Sherri Norris [1993-1996] for the all time career doubles list.

Center fielder Kodi Butler contributed two hits and a run for the Lady Colonels, and right fielder Jennifer Campbell added a hit a run and an RBI for the Lady Colonels as well.

The Panthers spread their scoring out along the course of the game with runs in the first, third, fourth and seventh innings.

The Lady Colonels exploded in their half of the second inning with five runs and kept the game close with a seventh inning surge, but came up short with only one run before the final out was recorded.

In the Lady Colonels’ half of the second, scoring started when shortstop Danielle Clayton reached on a walk. Second baseman Rachel Pugh doubled and Clayton scored on a fielding error by the Panther leftfielder. Pugh later scored on an error by the Panther third baseman off the bat of left fielder Leah Bland. Peterson then cleared the bases with a double but was thrown out at second.

Head coach Jenny Parsons was quoted on colonelsports.com as saying, “We made four errors in the first game; that really cost us.”

“I thought that we did not play our best brand of softball in the first game, but we bounced back in the second which was good,” Parsons said.

The second game of the double-header turned into a pitchers duel between Lady Colonel pitcher Krystalin Ensminger [9-6] and Panther southpaw Raquel Sanfiel [3-8].

Ensminger threw a complete game three-hit shut out to lead the Lady Colonels to their sixteenth win of the season.

Sanifel silenced the Lady Colonels’ bats for five innings with off-speed and breaking balls until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Lady Colonels scored all three of their runs.

In the sixth inning the Lady Colonels started the inning by right fielder Jennifer Campbell, who reached first base on a Panther error. Campbell was forced out at second on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Butler.

Peterson then singled down the left field line, and designated hitter Jaqueline Pacheco was hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. First baseman Amy Thibodaux hit into a fielder’s choice, plated another run for the Lady Colonels.

Clayton then roped a double for two RBI’s, the last of the scoring for the inning.

Clayton knocked in the other two runs with a sharp left single.

She went 1-3 with two RBI’s to lead the Colonels’ fifth inning scoring.

Thibodaux went 1-3 at the plate, while Ashley Martin went 1-2.