The Colonel softball team continues to improve its record as it moves to 14-8 overall and 8-4 in Southland Conference action. Nicholls was able to pull off a sweep of the University of Texas-Arlington March 19-21. UT-Arlington was leading the conference before Nicholls pulled the upset.

“That was a huge win for us,” head coach Jenny Parsons said. “I am very proud of how we responded. We struggled early at the plate, but we were able to remain patient and deliver at the end of the game.”

The Colonels are now third in the conference, trailing behind Stephen F. Austin and Texas State.

Senior outfielder and pitcher Audrey Wood, with a 3.19 batting average, has comprised three home runs.

Freshman outfielder Lauren Batiz is doing her share of hitting as well. Her .279 batting average is second best on the team.

Part of the Colonels’ success comes from the pitching circle. Lacey Gros and Wood have shown leadership, as the two senior pitchers round out the top five best ERAs in the SLC.

Gros is third in conference with a 2.32 ERA, while Wood is fifth with a 2.6 ERA. Gros’ performance against UT-Arlington earned her the SLC Pitcher of the Week award, voted by the league’s sports information directors and the league office.

Gros pitched her eighth complete game on the season in game one, fanning 11 to get the victory. In game two, she secured the save for the Colonels, facing only four batters and not allowing any hits.

In the final game of the series, Gros showed why she is a preseason second team All-SLC selection, as she pitched all nine innings in the Colonel extra innings contest.

For the week, Gros went 2-0 with a save, fanned 19 batters and held one of the best hitting teams in the conference, UT-Arlington, to a .133 batting average by yielding 10 hits and two runs in 17.0 innings of work.

The Colonels will take on Southern University April 7.