THIBODAUX - The Nicholls State University baseball team (7-12, 0-6 Southland Conference) hits the road to take on one of the top teams in the league as the Colonels head to Stephen F. Austin (16-6, 6-0 Southland) to take on the first place Lumberjacks in a three-game series beginning on Friday afternoon in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The Colonels will be looking to snap a losing streak that has stretched to eight games dating back to a March 11 loss at Lamar.  The Colonels will try to address their bullpen issues, as Nicholls has held a lead in five of their last eight games only to surrender a game-winning rally to the opposition.  In their last outing, the Colonels held a 1-0 lead over national power Tulane before allowing three runs to the Green Wave in the eighth and two more in the ninth en route to a 5-1 loss.

A win over the Lumberjacks would give the Colonels their first win since a March 6 victory over UL-Monroe and give Nicholls its first conference victory of the season.

However, the Colonels will face a tall order if they hope to derail the high-flying Lumberjacks.  Stephen F. Austin had rattled off a nine-game winning streak before falling to No. 6 Texas A&M by a final of 7-5 on Tuesday.

The Lumberjacks have ridden the best pitching staff in the league to a tie for first place in the Southland Conference with Texas State.  SFA leads the Southland with a staff ERA of 2.37 and an opposing batting average of .216.  Stephen F. Austin has allowed the fewest hits (161), runs (93) and earned runs (54) in the Southland, and the Lumberjacks are tied with Lamar with 177 strikeouts.

Offensively, the Lumberjacks also boast a potent lineup, led by Bryson Myles, whose .440 batting average leads the Southland Conference.

Nicholls responds on Friday afternoon by sending junior right hander Seth Webster to the mound.  Webster (0-1, 2.16 ERA) remains in search of his first win as a Colonel despite ranking fourth in the conference in ERA.  He will be followed in the rotation by senior right hander Brian Arceneaux on Saturday and junior lefty Mike Wisecarver on Sunday.

First pitch for the series opener is set for 3 p.m. in Nacogdoches.  Game two is set for a 2 p.m. start time on Saturday with Sunday's series finale slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.