BEAUMONT, Texas –
Riley Whitley's walk-off two-run double in the bottom of the eighth helped Lamar University to sweep the doubleheader against Nicholls Friday at the LU Softball Complex. The sweep puts LU in a tie for third in the Southland Conference standings with the Colonels.
This was also the seventh walk-off victory of the year for the Cardinals, which ties them with the 2013 and 2017 teams for most in a season.
The first game was a pitcher's duel until the Cardinals added late insurance runs to win 5-0.
Reagan Smith pitched the complete-game shutout, allowing four hits while striking out five batters. Offensively,
Isabella Flores (HR),
Cala Wilson and Whitley (RBI) recorded two hits.
Game two required eight innings before Whitley's double propelled LU to a 3-1 victory and clinched the series.
Madison Guidry pitched all eight innings, allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts.
Gracee Hess recorded two doubles and added an RBI, while
Ariel Flores added two hits of her own.
Game 1: LU 5, Nicholls 0
As the series began, Smith got into a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, but managed to get a big strikeout to end the frame.
Isabella Flores made the most of her first at-bat by homering to centerfield in LU's half of the first for a 1-0 lead. The one-run lead held throughout the next five innings as Smith allowed one hit while receiving some defensive help from
Kamaryn Radford's diving web gem in centerfield during the second.
Wilson doubled to lead off the sixth and was pinch-run for by
Kinlee McGuire. After
Makenzie Wright drew a walk, Whitley came through in the clutch to single in McGuire.
Sicily Windham reached on an error to score Wright, while pinch-hitter
Cimara-lei Wessling's double and Hess' single made it 5-0, which Smith would maintain for the last three outs.
Game 2: LU 3, Nicholls 1 (8 Inn.)
Guidry and Nicholls' pitcher Sierra Ouellette started the game by pitching two no-hit innings. The Colonels got the first hit of the game in the third and loaded the bases in the fourth before Guidry struck out Kayleigh Lugowski.
Ariel Flores started a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth with a single, but LU also left the bases loaded.
With two outs in the fifth, Hess came through to break the scoreless tie with her double, but the Colonels evened the score on a sacrifice fly in the next inning. The game went into extras and Nicholls went down in order. McGuire led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and reached third base on an error off the bat of Wright. That brought Whitley to the plate and she ended the game with her double to right-center.
The Cardinals will look to sweep the series and move past Nicholls in the conference standings Saturday. The first pitch will be delivered at noon and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
