Softball: April 1 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
Nicholls 5, Alcorn State 3
Nicholls 15, Alcorn State 8
Texas State 1, UIW 0
No. 23/22 Texas A&M 3, Stephen F. Austin 2
No. 23/22 Texas A&M 6, Stephen F. Austin 0
Nicholls 5, Alcorn State 3
Nicholls 15, Alcorn State 8
LORMAN, Miss. – The Nicholls State University softball team picked up a pair of wins on Wednesday as the Colonels swept Alcorn State in a doubleheader at the ASU Softball Complex, winning 5-3 and 15-8 over the Lady Braves.
With the sweep, Nicholls improved to 20-13 on the year, while Acorn State slipped to 2-21. The Colonels also swept the Lady Braves for the season, winning all three matchups.
Sophomore Taylor Hastings struck out a career-high nine batters and Kristen Ahearn went 3-for-4 at the plate as the Colonels defeated the Lady Braves, 5-3, in game one.
Hastings (4-2) scattered seven hits in seven innings of work and allowed three earned runs. She gave up a run in the first on a double and the Colonels found themselves down 1-0 after three innings of play.
In the fourth, Nicholls took the lead after Jessica Taylor tripled to bring in two runs. It started a string of three consecutive innings with at least one run, with Ahearn adding a RBI on an infield single in the fifth.
Alcorn answered with a run in the bottom half, but the Colonels scored two more in the sixth to go up 5-2. Kayla Prater drove in the first run on a triple, and she then scored on a sacrifice fly by Haley Stevenson.
A leadoff triple in the bottom of the sixth led to a run for Alcorn, but Hastings would retire the Lady Braves in order in the seventh to preserve the win.
Nicholls finished with nine hits, getting three from Ahearn and two from Danielle Phillips.
The Colonels scored a combined 13 runs in two innings to knock off Alcorn State in a high-scoring 15-8 decision.
Both team finished with eight hits and nine walks, but Nicholls took advantage of six errors by the Lady Braves to win the game. At the plate, Prater was the lone Colonel with multi-hits, finishing 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs. Stevenson also tripled and was responsible for three RBIs.
Nicholls scored seven runs in the first inning, despite recording just two hits. Prater tripled a run in and Caitlyn Carroll brought a run home on a single, but the other five runs came either on an error, passed ball or wild pitch.
Alcorn put a dent in the lead after scoring three runs in the third to trail 7-4, but Nicholls quickly got two of the runs back in the top of the fourth after two errors and more unsteady pitching by the Lady Braves.
In the sixth, Nicholls all but put the game away with six runs to take a 15-6 lead. The Colonels had five hits in the frame, scoring the first four runs on a 2-run triple by Stevenson and RBI singles by Haley Parkerson and Ahearn. The final two came home on a passed ball and an error.
Alcorn added two runs in the bottom half to make the final.
The Colonels trotted out three pitchers, including redshirt sophomore Cari Spain who made her career debut in the circle. Jackie Johnson started the game, allowing four runs on two hits in 2.2 innings, while Spain gave up two runs on five hits in 1.2 innings. Hastings closed out the game, tossing 2.1 innings with two hits and two runs allowed. Johnson led the trio with five strikeouts, Hastings had four and Spain added three.
Nicholls will take on one of the top teams in the Southland for the second consecutive weekend as they host McNeese State for a three-game series. Friday’s opener is scheduled for 6 p.m.
-
Return to Top -
Texas State 1, UIW 0
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word softball team made the short trek to Texas State University on Wednesday and lost, 1-0 at the TSU Softball Stadium.
The only run of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Courtney Harris hit a solo home run for the Bobcats (22-15). UIW sophomore Kristin Hebert (Humble/Atascocita HS) gave the Cardinals a chance at the upset by keeping the Bobcats off balance on offense. Hebert tossed a complete game scattering eight hits and a walk while striking out five.
Randi Rupp handcuffed the UIW offense. She limited the Cardinals to two hits and a hit batsmen while striking out 14 batters to earn her 16th win of the season. Taylor Johnson (Schertz/Clemens HS) had the only two hits of the game for the Cardinals. Her two-out triple in the sixth inning gave the team their best chance to score. She also extended her hitting streak to 10 games.
The Bobcats tallied eight hits in the game. Kortney Koroll led the team with three hits, including a double.
The Cardinals are back in action on Friday with a doubleheader at home against Southland Conference rival Abilene Christian University. The games scheduled to start at 4 p.m., but it is likely they will be moved up to a 1 p.m. start due to potential inclement weather.
-
Return to Top -
No. 23/22 Texas A&M 3, Stephen F. Austin 2
No. 23/22 Texas A&M 6, Stephen F. Austin 0
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin softball team pushed No. 22 Texas A&M to the brink in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday night at Aggie Softball Complex, but couldn’t close the deal in a 3-2 loss. The Ladyjacks dropped the second game 6-0 and are now 9-24 on the season heading into their upcoming weekend series against Houston Baptist.
The Ladyjacks jumped on the Aggies (27-9) early in the first game thanks to the bat of Brittany Lewis. The designated player wasted little time putting SFA on the board, sending a Rachel Fox pitch over the left field wall to lead off the game.
SFA added to its lead with another run in the second inning. Lindsay Campbell hit one of her two doubles in the game deep to the gap in left center and circled home after Autumn Holloway floated a single over the right side of the infield. The one-out RBI single gave the Ladyjacks a 2-0 cushion before a lightning delay halted play for a little over an hour.
When play resumed, the Aggies finally found a way to get on the board with a run in the third and fourth innings to tie the game 2-2.
The SFA defense would tighten, getting out of tight jams all night behind the arm of freshman pitcher Callee Guffey. The Ladyjack hurler stranded the bases loaded in the second and watched her defense make great plays behind her all night.
In the bottom of the fourth with an Aggie runner at third, Campbell made a catch in shallow center field and gunned down the runner at the plate for a huge double play. The centerfielder made nice plays on the ball all evening to keep the ‘Jacks in the game.
The play of the night came in the bottom of the fifth after two putouts by Campbell. On a blooper hit down the left field line, shortstop Taylor Vick got a great jump and made a phenomenal diving catch to help SFA get out of the inning unscathed.
Despite the great defense, the Aggies finally broke through with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to left field. The Ladyjacks couldn’t rally in the seventh, falling on the short end of a 3-2 decision.
Guffey pitched the entire six innings, allowing three runs – two earned – on seven hits and five walks. The Ladyjack ace fanned five on the night but was charged with the loss.
On the Aggie side, Fox (14-6) struck out 10 batters in seven innings to earn the win.
In the second game, the Ladyjacks ran into a hot pitcher in Katie Marks. The junior surrendered just one hit in seven scoreless innings and picked up her 10th win of the year.
Texas A&M outhit SFA 11-1 overall and took advantage of three Ladyjack errors to come away with the 6-0 win and doubleheader sweep.
SFA will return home for a three-game series against Houston Baptist this Friday and Saturday at SFA Softball Field. Play will begin at 1:00 p.m. each day.
-
Return to Top -