THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University softball team will play its fourth contest of an eight-game road trip when they take on in-state rival, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, on Thursday at the ULM Activity Center. First pitch for the non-conference matchup is set for 5 p.m.

With only 21 games left on the schedule, Nicholls (8-20) will be looking to make a late run as the Colonels come into the matchup on a six-game losing streak. Last weekend at UT-Arlington, the Colonels used the long ball to erase a four-run deficit in the series finale, but two errors in the final inning halted the comeback as they fell 5-4.

At the plate, Ashley Ray belted her seventh home for the Colonels last weekend, and is now tied for second in the conference with three others. While leading Nicholls in batting (.316), Ray is among the top ten in the Southland in RBIs (24), total bases (55) and slugging percentage (.579). The Colonels' other homer came off the bat of Laine Strickland, who is used primarily as a designated fielder. The two-run blast was Strickland's first hit of the season.

ULM (19-13) heads into the contest on a seven-game winning streak and is aiming for its third win of the season against in-state opponents. The Warhawks are coming off a three-game sweep over Middle Tennessee State in Sun Belt Conference play which included a 15-12 slugfest in the series finale.

The Warhawks feature a powerful lineup as they are batting .305 with 21 home runs as a team. Five players, led by Jessica Olguin (.387), are hitting over .300 on the season. Brianna Love leads the squad in home runs (8) while Roxane Cassel has 37 RBIs.

In the circle, ULM has a team 3.41 ERA with 120 strikeouts. Tiffany Mills paces the staff with a 10-8 record, one shutout and 62 punchouts.

First pitch on Thursday evening between Nicholls and ULM is slated for 5 p.m. Live stats can be found on geauxcolonels.com.