LAKE CHARLES, La. –  With their backs against the wall, the fourth seed Lamar Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-4 win over third seed Nicholls in the first elimination game of the day in the 2023 Southland Conference Softball Championship.
 
The Cardinals are now 22-33 on the season and move on immediately to take on second seed Southeastern in the last elimination game before the championship series. Nicholls’ fantastic turnaround season ends at 29-24.
 
Lamar had taken an early lead in the first inning when Cameron Niedenthal hammered a three-run homerun to left field for a 3-0 advantage.
 
Nicholls tied the game up in the third on a two-run homer to left-center by Brynne Songy – the first of her career – and an RBI squeeze bunt by Claire Sisco. The Colonels took the 4-3 lead on Alexa Poche’s RBI double in the fifth and carried that lead into the seventh.
 
Lamar rallied with an infield single and a hit batsman, followed by a fielder’s choice and steal to put runners on second and third with one out. Nicolette Ramirez laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to tie the game and Felixia Hinojosa dropped a single into center field for the 5-4 lead.
 
Nicholls drew a walk with two out in the bottom of the inning to put the tying run on base, but the Colonels’ one-run magic finally ran out.
 
For Lamar, Aaliyah Ruiz earned the win with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Niedenthal went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Estella Garza and Aleka Xayaseng each went 2-for-4.
 
For Nicholls, Molly Yoo was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs in 4.1 relief innings on seven hits. Songy’s homer was good for two RBIs and Abby Andersen had a triple.