Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 THIBODAUX -- Nicholls continued its early-inning dominance Saturday as the Colonels pushed across a total of six first-inning runs en route to a doubleheader sweep and a sweep of the series against Northwestern State.

The Colonels (20-16, 9-3 Southland Conference) moved into first place in the league Saturday after two first-inning runs led to a 5-1 win in the first game and four first-inning runs propelled Nicholls to a 6-1 finale win.

Including Friday's Nicholls victory, the Colonels outscored NSU 11-0 in the first inning in the three games.

NSU (18-19, 9-6 SLC), which entered the series in sole possession of first place, drops to a tie for sixth place after the sweep.

The Lady Demons were plagued with eight combined errors leading to nine unearned runs of Nicholls' 11 in the doubleheader.

NSU is back in action Wednesday at Louisiana Tech before hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this coming weekend.

Nicholls 5, NSU 1

Northwestern State doubled up Nicholls in hits (8-4), but the Colonels found ways to brings runs home in a 5-1 Lady Demons' loss in the first game Saturday.

Nicholls clinched the series win by capitalizing on four hits (three doubles), five walks and four NSU errors.

NSU starter Samantha Guile (6-8) allowed just one earned run, but the Colonels pushed four unearned runs across.

Nicholls manufactured a pair of first-inning runs on just one hit. After Amanda Gianelloni led off with a double, Emma Holland reached on an error and advanced runners to second and third base.

Nicholls scored one run on a Kasey Frederick sacrifice fly and another on an attempted double steal, which brought home Holland for the 2-0 edge.

NSU stranded eight runners on base, which included leaving the bases loaded in the second inning. The Lady Demons threatened early in the frame with E.C. Delafield (hit-by-pitch) and Riley Cantrell (bunt single) reaching base. NSU loaded the bases with two outs on an Elise Vincent single, but Nicholls got out of the jam with a fly out.

The Lady Demons finally broke through on Nicholls starter Megan Landry in the fifth inning when Kaitlyn St. Clair singled in a run to halve the Colonels' edge 2-1.

Vincent and Cayla Jones each singled with one out, and Vincent scored on St. Clair's RBI single.

St. Clair (2-for-4) and Vincent (2-for-3) were the multiple hitters for NSU.

But it's all NSU could muster against Landry, who was the winning pitcher in each of the first two games of the series. Landry hit one batter and maneuvered around NSU's eight hits while striking out six.

Landry combined for just the one run in her 14 innings this series as the reigning SLC Pitcher of the Year pitched six straight complete games after she pitched all three games against Sam Houston State this past weekend.

The Colonels struck for three runs in the fifth inning on a Samantha Dares two-RBI single and a Melise Gossen RBI double. The inning started with a walk and an error.

Guile allowed five runs (one earned) on four hits and five walks with four NSU errors.

Nicholls 6, NSU 1

Senior pitcher Mikayla Brown thrived after the first inning, but NSU couldn't overcome four first-inning runs in the finale.

Brown (3-5) allowed just one earned run in the complete-game effort, allowing six runs on seven hits and five walks in six innings.

After two walks and an error (one of four NSU mistakes), Nicholls' Melise Gossen plated two runs with a single before an error brought home two more runs for a 4-0 Colonels' advantage.

The Colonels added an earned run in the fourth inning (Kasey Frederick RBI single) and an unearned run in the fifth inning (Corynn Major RBI) after NSU started the frame with consecutive errors.

Nicholls starter Emily Danehower (2-0) worked around five hits and three walks to hold the Lady Demons to just an unearned run.

Trailing 5-0 in the fifth inning, junior Hayley Barbazon ushered in NSU's lone run when she singled in Maggie Black, who walked and advanced on a passed ball.

NSU had a chance to significantly dent the Colonels' five-run lead in the sixth inning after Alexis Perry singled and E.C. Delafield doubled to lead off the inning. But Perry was thrown out at third base on Delafield's double, and Danehower retired the next two batters to end the threat.

Perry collected two of NSU's five hits.