THIBODAUX, La. – Nicholls' Melise Gossen singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to allow the Colonels to take the Southland Conference softball series from Southeastern Louisiana with a 4-3 victory in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday evening at Swanner Field.
The Lady Lions (32-21, 17-10 Southland) will be the No. 5 seed in next week's Southland Conference Tournament, taking on eight-seeded Central Arkansas in a first round game on Tuesday at Northwestern State. The official bracket will be released by the league office upon the conclusion of the regular season on Sunday. Nicholls (32-20, 21-6 Southland) will be the No. 2 seed in the league tournament.
Jaquelyn Ramon,
Lindsey Rizzo and
Bobbi Smith led SLU with two hits apiece on Saturday.
Sophie Hannabas (6-6) struck out five and gave up two runs in 7.1 innings of relief to take the tough loss.
Nicholls jumped on top in the bottom of the first inning. Singles by Emma Holland and Kasey Frederick put a pair of runners on, then Samantha Dares lined a triple just inside the right field line to clear the bases and give the Colonels a 2-0 lead.
Southeastern got on the board in the top of the second inning.
Mima Doucet was hit by a pitch, then bunted over to second by
Ali McCoy and scored on a Nicholls error to cut the lead in half and pull Southeastern within, 2-1.
SLU took the lead in its half of the third. Smith led off the frame with her team-high sixth triple of the season, then scored when Ramon flared a single into left field. Consecutive one-out singles by
Rebecca Skains and
Ella Manzer plated Ramon and put SLU up, 3-2.
Nicholls threatened against
Sophie Hannabas in the bottom of the third. Hannabas walked Frederick, then gave up consecutive singles to Kali Clement and Dares to load the bases with two outs. However, the Mansfield, Texas native forced Gossen to ground out to keep SLU in front.
Hannabas deftly moved through the Colonels lineup until their final at-bat. Nicholls rallied in the seventh inning to score the tying run, as Clement blooped a bases loaded single into centerfield. However, Hannabas forced Dares to hit into an inning-ending double play, as the runner at second passed the runner at third after
Madisen Blackford made a great running catch, to send the game into extra innings.
The Colonels threatened to win it in the eighth inning, loading the bases with two outs. Hannabas again held strong, forcing Holland to hit a comebacker to the circle to end the threat and extend the contest.
Nicholls finally won it in the ninth. Clement started the rally with a double just inside the left field line, which was followed by a Dares walk. Gossen then sliced an opposite field single to right field to score Clement and give the Colonels the walk-off victory.
The Southland Conference Tournament is set for next Tuesday through Friday in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The first three days of the tournament will be streamed live on the Southland Digital Network at
www.Southland.org/live and via the Southland apps available for iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku. Friday's noon championship game will be on ESPNU with the if necessary game set for ESPN3.
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TICKETS
Tickets are on sale for the Southland Conference Softball Tournament, which will be played May 7-10 at Northwestern State's Lady Demon Diamond. Available options include an all-tournament pass ($20 for adults, $10 kids) and single-game tickets ($10 adults, $5 kids). With valid ID, students from Southland institutions will receive free admission. Tickets can be purchased at
nsudemons.com. Click "packages" for all-tournament passes. In addition, fans can call the ticket office at 318-357-4268 or buy tickets at the gate via cash or card.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @SLUlionsoftball on Twitter and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
HOME RUN CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the softball program are encouraged to join the Home Run Club. Lady Lion softball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Home Run Club and S Club (softball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern softball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events (softball, baseball, football and basketball), effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit
www.LionSports.net/clear.
