THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University softball team will return to Southland Conference play this weekend as third-place Texas State University makes the trek to the Colonel Softball Complex for a three-game series. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. while the finale on Sunday will start at noon.

Nicholls (9-25, 2-12 SLC), currently 3.5 games out of the sixth spot in the Southland standings, will be looking to snap its five-game overall and eight-game conference skids in only its third home series of the season. The Colonels have posted a 2-5 record at the Colonel Softball Complex so far this season with both victories coming in conference play.

The Colonels had eight hits in their 6-3 loss at home on Wednesday against Southern Miss and are hitting .247 on the year. Nicholls' top two hitters this season, juniors Ashley Ray (.306) and Megan Gaspard (.302), each recorded a hit with Gaspard extending her hitting streak to eight games. Senior Whitney Roan also had a season-high three hits to bump her average to .295.

Texas State (21-18, 14-7 SLC) heads into the series on a five-game winning streak after sweeping Central Arkansas last weekend in San Marcos. The Bobcats are currently 3.0 games out of first place, trailing only Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UT-Arlington.

Texas State is hitting .249 as a team and features two players ranked in the top 15 of the Southland Conference in batting average. Jenna Emery heads the lineup with a .333 average, McKenzie Baack hits at a .327 clip and Haley Lemons is batting .319. Baack leads the team with 22 RBIs.

The Bobcats rank third in conference in pitching with a 2.54 ERA. Anne Marie Taylor leads Texas State with a 10-4 record, a 1.76 ERA and has held opponents to a SLC-best .177 batting average.

Live stats and live audio will be available for all three games this weekend, courtesy of ThibodauxOnline.com and geauxcolonels.com. Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.