After opening the season with three consecutive losses, the Lady Colonels softball team finished second place in the Easton Tiger Classic Tournament with wins over Ball State University, St. John’s University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Before playing in the Baton Rouge tournament, Nicholls (3-6) suffered back-to-back losses against Houston in the opening doubleheader Feb. 8. The Lady Colonels dropped the first game 2-1 and the second game 4-3. In the team’s home opener against Southern Mississippi Feb. 13, the Lady Colonels lost 5-3.
In the first day of the tournament Nicholls lost their opening game 15-6 in five innings, but they followed the loss with a 5-4 win over the Ball State Lady Cardinals to split the first day of the tournament.
“I thought we made a lot of mistakes in the first game that we corrected in the second,” head coach Jenny Parsons said. “The team kept their composure and really fought hard against Ball State.”
In the win over the Lady Cardinals, Nicholls had seven hits, and senior shortstop Kat Harrell accounted for four of them. The senior went 4-for-4 with four RBI.
On day two, the Lady Colonels faced more formidable opponents in the seventh-ranked Louisiana State University Lady Tigers and the Saint John’s Red Storm.
The Colonels fell 9-1 to LSU early in the day, but bounced back with an 8-6 victory over the Red Storm to head into the third and final day of the tournament.
The lone run for Nicholls against the Tigers came in the bottom of the fifth when junior Kodi Butler hit a single that scored true freshman Megan Powell.
The Colonels bounced back against St. John’s, scoring six runs in the top of the second to seal the win.
On the final day of the tournament, the Colonels took revenge on the UTC Lady Mocs with a 15-3 win.
The win put them into the championship game against LSU. The Tigers again took the Lady Colonels to task, 9-2, to win the tournament.
Harrell, Butler and sophomore Audrey Wood were named All-Tournament selections as the Lady Colonels finished the weekend 3-3 with two of their losses against LSU.
“I thought we played a little shaky in the first day, but the team really responded and found a groove to get to the championship,” coach Jenny Parsons said.
The Lady Colonels will be back in action when they face Austin Peay on the road Saturday in the Mercer Wingate Inn Classic Tournament held in Macon, Ga.
