THIBODAUX – Following a three-game series against the Southland Conference's top team, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi , the Nicholls State University softball team (8-16) will have another tough task as the No. 24 Louisiana State University Tigers come to the Colonel Softball Complex for a mid-week non-conference matchup on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Wednesday's game will be the second matchup of the season between the in-state foes. In the earlier contest on Feb. 19 at the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic, LSU (17-12) took advantage of Colonel miscues to piece together an eight-run fifth inning en route to an 11-2 mercy-rule victory. The Colonels and LSU will wrap up the season series on April 6 at Tiger Park.

Nicholls will look to maintain last weekend's offensive onslaught as the Colonels racked up 28 hits for a .322 team batting average in the series against the Islanders. Katie Holmes led the way by going 5-for-9 while driving in seven runs. Tori Lay also had five hits which included a triple and Ashton Bennett notched four hits.

For the season, Ashley Ray continues to lead the Colonels at the plate with a .321 batting average, six home runs and 23 RBIs. Lauren Batiz finished 3-for-7 last weekend to bump her average up to .316.

In the circle, Bennett threw the Colonels' first complete game shutout of the year as she held the Southland's top-ranked offense to four hits. She leads Nicholls with a five wins, a 2.29 ERA and 28 strikeouts.

LSU, ranked 24th in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, heads into Thibodaux after winning the final two contests of a three-game set against Kentucky last weekend. The Tigers snapped a seven-game skid with the wins, but to the Tigers credit, five of their losses came in series sweeps versus No. 2 Florida and No. 4 Georgia. LSU will also be trying for its first road victory as they sit at 0-6 on the year.

The Tigers come in posting a team .255 batting average led by Simone Hayward (.303). Anissa Young has been LSU's top run producer, driving in 21 while hitting six homers. Although LSU has struggled swinging the bat, they lead the SEC by a wide margin in hit-by-pitches with 43.

LSU's pitching staff has a collective 3.11 ERA and ranks second in the SEC with 226 strikeouts. Meghan Patterson, who has a 5-1 record with 2.61 ERA, defeated the Colonels earlier this season by striking out nine in five innings of work. Brittany Mack leads the squad with seven wins after back-to-back complete game victories against UK.

The Colonels will be looking for their second win in program history versus LSU. Nicholls won its only matchup against the Tigers in 1998 with a 3-0 victory in Baton Rouge.

First pitch against LSU at the Colonel Softball Complex is set for 6 p.m. Live audio and live stats will be available courtesy of geauxcolonels.com and ThibodauxOnline.com.