The Lady Colonel softball team failed to hold on to a pair of early leads in games one and two, and a late-inning rally fell short in game three, as Nicholls was blanked in a Southland Conference series by the University of Louisiana at Monroe over the weekend at Lady Colonel Diamond. Nicholls is now 18-23 overall and 2-13 in the SLC.
“We came out and scored first in the first two games,” Lady Colonel head coach Pattie Holthaus said. “We tried to tell them that when we score first, we should win. We did some things defensively that hurt, but we need be tougher.”
Game 1: UL-Monroe 3 Nicholls 1
To open the series on Saturday, the Lady Colonels scored first in the fourth inning when Shauna Emola singled home Jill Chabert.
Louisiana-Monroe answered with three runs in the next inning and Nicholls never recovered as the visiting team took the 3-1 win.
The Lady Colonels recorded six hits and posted one error in the game, and UL-Monroe stranded five runners, while Nicholls left four base.
Emola led Nicholls by going 3-for-3 with two doubles.
Duffi Matherne was tagged with the loss as she went the entire way, allowing a pair of earned runs, and striking out seven.
Game 2: UL-Monroe 6 Nicholls 1
In the nightcap, Nicholls again jumped out to another 1-0 lead when Julie Rodriguez scored an unearned run.
The Lady Indians then scored twice in the fourth inning with the help of a double by Jenny Buller and a single by Jenny Garcia.
In the sixth, ULM posted three more runs before adding another in the seventh to close out the scoring.
Nicholls was outhit 7-3 in the game and suffered from three Lady Colonel errors. The Lady Colonels again stranded four runners, while UL-Monroe left five on base.
Matherne got the loss, again going seven innings. She struck out five in the contest.
Game 3: UL-Monroe 5 Nicholls 2
The series’ final game Sunday saw a late Nicholls rally fall short. Trailing 5-0 entering the final inning, the Lady Colonels scored a pair of runs, but failed to cut further into the UL-Monroe lead.
UL-Monroe scored one run in the fourth, before adding four in the sixth on four hits. The Lady Indians sent 10 batters to the plate in the frame.
To start the Lady Colonel rally in the seventh, Julie Rodriguez posted a triple. Emola then followed with a RBI single to put Nicholls on the board.
Kyna Boyer connected on the second Lady Colonel triple of the inning that scored Emola.
The Lady Indians then called on ace pitcher Annie Van Oosbree to close out the game.
UL-Monroe outhit Nicholls 7-4 in the game and left six runners on base.
Nicholls will return to action this weekend for a three-game SLC series with Northwestern State in Natchitoches.
The teams will play a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, before concluding the series with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.
