Over the weekend the Lady Colonels took the series over Stephen F. Austin 2-1 on the Colonel Softball Diamond/500. In the bottom of the fourth, Colonel Lacy Gros hit a RBI single that brought sophomore Karla Troxler home to make the score 2-1. Gros also pitched the entire game allowing only four hits and one run.
“It is an important series win, and we have to build on this as a team,” head coach Jenny Parsons said.
During the first inning, both teams added one run on the board to tie the score. Nicholls added a score in the bottom of the first with junior Danielle Clayton sending senior Kat Harrell home on a bunt to tie the game.
In the first game, freshman Torri Lay had the opportunity to tie the game with a passed ball on the catcher but failed to get to home before she was tagged out.
For the three-hour game, both teams traded runs in the fourth and sixth inning to keep the game tied at three in regulation. In the 10th inning, third baseman Briana Bishop hit a triple to bring in outfielder Kendal Harper to go up 4-3 in the top of the inning for Stephen F. Austin.
The Colonels answered back with a double hit by Rachel Pugh and advanced to third and was credited with an RBI to bring in Gros at home to tie the score 4-4. With no outs and the winning run on third, the ladies put the game in extra innings.
In the top of the 11th, the Lumberjacks added a run on the scoreboard to go up 5-4 by a double hit by Kim Daley to bring Ashley Struchtemeye home. The Lady Colonels tied the score back from a single hit by Audrey Wood bringing home Kodi Butler to tie the score at five.
In the 12th inning, the Lumberjacks took the lead with a score by Bishop to win the game.
In the second game of the series, the Lady Colonels bounced back and won the game 6-5. In the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on third base, catcher Nicole Smith got a home run over left field and hit the scoreboard to put the game into extra innings. After the game Smith walked off the field with ice on her shoulder. She said she was excited about the huge win.
“The lumberjacks pitcher threw an easy pitch, and I just put a good swing on the ball. When I hit the ball, I knew it was going out the park,” Smith said.
SFA came from behind in the second game to take a 5-3 lead, but Nicholls tied it in the seventh and won when Kodi Butler beat out a ground ball to score the winning run of the 6-5 victory in the eighth inning.
Also, the Lady Colonels defeated Southern 9-0 for their second victory over the Lady Jaguars this season. In the win the Colonels picked up four runs in the third and five runs in the fifth while also playing flawless in the field to fuel their victory. The Lady Jaguars only managed two hits with no runs.
“It was good to see how well we hit today. From top to bottom, our line up got timely hits,” coach Jenny Parsons said.
The game remained scoreless until the third inning when Nicholls put four runs on the board. Senior Harrell led in scoring with a double to center field that brought Lay home, making the score 1-0.
The double by Harrell was her 41st career two-base hit, which ties her at the top of Nicholls’ all-time doubles list with former player and current coach Leah Peterson. Senior Amy Thibodeaux closed out the scoring in the inning with a RBI single up the middle that sent Wood home for the 4-0 lead. The RBI by Thibodeaux was her 99th career run batted in.
The Lady Colonels will travel to Sam Houston State for a three-game series. The game is slated for April 19.
