THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University softball team will host Southland Conference rival Southeastern Louisiana for a doubleheader on Tuesday, kicking off five straight home games this week at the Colonel Softball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Following Tuesday's twin bill, Nicholls (5-19, 1-3) hosts ULM on Wednesday for a non-conference matchup, before taking on third-place Texas State on Friday/Saturday. All games can be listened to at ThibodauxOnline.com. 

Nicholls will be looking to win its second straight conference game after knocking off Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. In the win, junior Ashton Bennett tossed a complete game shutout and also delivered a one-out double in the seventh that led to the winning run.

Over the weekend, Nicholls had 14 hits and currently ranks fourth in the conference with a .258 batting average. While senior Ashley Ray leads the squad with a .420 average after extending her hitting streak to eight games, junior Ashley Bertot had three hits against SFA and is tied for first in the SLC with 10 stolen bases.

The Colonels also had a solid showing in the circle, giving up just two runs, both unearned, against the Ladyjacks. Along with Bennett's standout performance on Saturday, sophomore Katie Moulder gave up five hits in her complete game on Friday, but suffered the loss after the Colonels failed to plate a run.

Southeastern La. (6-23, 0-4) will be searching for its first SLC victory after being swept by Texas State. The Lady Lions fell 3-0 in the opener before having a perfect game thrown against them in a five-inning, 10-0 loss.

The Lady Lions are batting .235 as a team, led by Megan McCollum at .342. Michelle Duhe is next at .290 and Meghan Gomez has provided the power for SLU, hitting eight homers with 19 RBIs.

SLU has used a three-player rotation in the circle, with Kenna Terry and Vicki Honeycutt combining for four wins in 18 starts. Terry leads the hurlers with a 4.26 ERA and 35 strikeouts. Jessie Brown has also started six games, claiming one win with a 7.00 ERA.

Last season in Thibodaux, Nicholls took two of three games against SLU. In the opener, Ray drove in seven of Nicholls' eight runs as she set a Colonel record with three homers in the 8-0 victory.