HAMMOND — A game of sharp turns provided dramatic theater in Wednesday’s first elimination game at the 2024 SLC Softball Championship. No. 3 Nicholls marked its second walk-off win of the tournament, outlasting No. 5 Lamar 5-4 in an extra-innings battle. 

Lilianna Robledo stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, cracked an RBI single to the gap in left field and sent the Colonels into a frenzy. 

Robledo finished the game with two RBI while Claire Sisco went two-of-four at the dish with one RBI. Abby Andersen collected two hits and Bryne Songy went one-of-three. 

Shenita Tucker proved an offensive juggernaut in her final game of the season, going three-for-four with one RBI. Mikaila Kenney went one-of-three with two RBI. 

Avery Paden went five innings for Nicholls conceding four hits and three earned runs while Molly Yoo finished the game allowing two hits in three innings of work. 

Emma Wardlaw threw 3.2 innings allowing four runs, none of which earned. Karyanna Mitchell went 3.2 innings with only one earned run. 

Tuesday night’s hero Alexa Poche scored the game’s first run off a Claire Sisco single in the bottom of the first. 

Wardlaw and Paden controlled the next two innings of action, keeping the score at a standstill. 

The Cardinal offense shifted gears in the top of the fourth after Tucker scored from third on a Veronica Harrison single, tying the game at 1-1.  

But Nicholls had an immediate response to that equalizer. Katy Sanders drove in the go-ahead run on her first hit of the season, putting the Colonels up 2-1. Songy broke the game open afterward, sending a two-run blast over the left field wall to make the difference 4-1. 

Kenney answered with her own two-run dinger, sending a ball beyond the towering left field wall at North Oak Park and Lamar drew within one run. 

Nicholls threatened to extend its lead once again in the sixth, plating two runners with one out before Harrison prevented any damage with a highlight diving catch on a bunt attempt. 

Lamar saw its final chances start to fade in the top of the seventh. Down to its last strike, Tucker lifted a drive into left center field beyond both Nicholls outfielders tracking the ball.

The SLC Newcomer of the Year zipped around the bases, sliding into home to tie the game 4-4. The play marked her first home run as a Cardinal. 

Mitchell held firm in the bottom of the inning and forced extra innings. Yoo sat down the Cardinals in the top of the eighth and the Colonels loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning. 

That work on the bases set up Robledo’s game-winning swing, bringing a conclusion to the twilight dramatics between the two teams. 

While the win marks Nicholls’ second walk-off victory of the tournament, it is also Lamar’s second walk-off defeat in as many games at the SLC Championship. 

The Colonels will meet the winner of the second elimination game on Wednesday between No. 1 McNeese and No. 7 Houston Christian.