THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University softball team will play in their third consecutive weekend tournament as they head to Hattiesburg, Miss. for four games in the Southern Miss Invitational. Nicholls will kick off the tournament at 9 a.m. on Saturday against Troy University.

After the opener against Troy, Nicholls (5-6) will play Southern Miss at 2 p.m. to wrap up the first day. On Sunday, the Colonels are set to play the University of Evansville at 10 a.m. before closing out the weekend at 3 p.m. against Mississippi Valley State.

Nicholls is coming off their first weekday game of the year after knocking off Southern University, 5-1, in Baton Rouge on Wednesday afternoon. Freshman Katie Moulder earned her second win of the season, throwing a complete game while tying the 2011 team-best of five strikeouts.

The Colonels are hitting at a .239 clip in their first 11 games while facing several elite pitching staffs. Nicholls played three Top 25 teams last weekend - No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 20 LSU and No. 23 Houston, which all feature pitchers who are among the NCAA leaders in earned run average. Leading the offense for Nicholls are junior Ashley Ray (.300 BA) and freshman Brittany Marcet (.333 BA), who both had great showings in the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic.

Troy University (7-3) comes into the invitational after taking four of five games in their 2011 Quality Inn Classic last weekend. The Trojans sport a team batting average of .333 and have three players hitting .400 or better. Nikki Hollett heads the offense with a .471 average, seven home runs and 16 RBIs. Morgan Grove leads the staff with a perfect 4-0 record with two complete games.

Southern Miss dropped to 5-5 on the year following their 6-4 loss on Wednesday at Mississippi State. Christina Roosemalen paces the Golden Eagles with a .393 average while Jill Mathis leads the team with five homers and 12 RBIs. In the circle, Beth Dietrich posts a 3.25 ERA and has two wins on the year.

The University of Evansville (1-4) kicked off their year last weekend in the Mardi Gras Tournament hosted by South Alabama, and came away with 10-3 victory over Southeastern Louisiana. The Purple Ace lineup features three players batting .400 or better, led by Brianna Villanueva who is 3-for-6 in the early going. Emily Morris has the lone win for Evansville after tossing a complete game against the Lady Lions of Southeastern.

Nicholls' final opponent of the weekend, Mississippi Valley State, heads into the invitational with a 3-3 record after falling 6-1 to Ole Miss on Tuesday. The Devilettes are hitting .311 as a team so far, led by Rachelle Harris with a .500 average while Rashundra Brass leads the squad with two home runs and 10 RBIs. MSVU has a collective 3.60 ERA with three different players recording a win.

Following the Southern Miss Classic, the Colonels will play one more road game against South Alabama on March 2 before opening their home and conference schedule on March 5 versus Sam Houston State.