THIBODAUX, La.  – The Nicholls State University softball team will close out its seven-game homestand with a three-game series against Southland Conference newcomer Houston Baptist, starting Thursday with a 5 p.m. doubleheader at the Colonel Softball Complex.  Friday's finale will begin at 3 p.m.

Nicholls (13-17, 4-5) is coming off its first conference series victory, taking two of three games against Stephen F. Austin last weekend. The Colonels received great outings in the circle from Ashton Bennett and Hannah Haydel as the duo combined for a 0.67 ERA. At the plate, Ashley Bertot racked up five hits to extend her hitting streak to 12 games, while Leah Andrus, Alaina Guidry and Brittany Marcet each finished with four hits.

Bertot continues to lead the Colonels at the plate, raising her average to a team-best .337. During her hitting streak, the senior leadoff hitter is batting .432 with 10 runs scored. Bertot is currently tied for 15th in the SLC in runs scored with 19.

Including Bertot, the Colonels have four players batting over.300 on the year. Marcet is hitting .321 and leads the team with 16 RBIs, followed by Andrus with a .313 average and 14 RBIs. Danielle Phillips is fourth on the team with a .304 average.

In conference play, Nicholls posts a .305 team batting average, helped by Bertot's .406 mark. Guidry has been the second-best hitter for the Colonels with a .375 average.

For the pitching staff, Haydel, a freshman from Ama, La., picked up two wins last week while posting a 0.00 ERA. Against SFA, she tossed a complete game in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader as Nicholls won 4-2. Bennett led Nicholls in Sunday's finale, throwing a four-hitter in the 2-1 victory. Bennett leads the Colonels with an 8-8 record while Haydel is 5-6.

Houston Baptist, playing in its first season in the Southland Conference, took two of three in its series against Central Arkansas last weekend to improve to 5-4 in the standings. Wednesday, HBU (12-11) stepped out of conference play, splitting a doubleheader against Houston-Victoria.

The Huskies come into the series ranked third in the SLC in batting average, hitting .315 as a team. HBU is led at the plate by the conference's top hitter - junior Lauren Schwirtlich (.529) – and her younger sister, freshman Kirsten (.391). Lauren has a team-high 37 hits and 28 runs scored, while Kirsten leads the Southland with 33 RBIs and a .823 slugging percentage.

In the circle, HBU has used a trio of starters, led by Keely Shuler. In 12 appearances, Shuler has eight starts, one shutout and leads the team with a 2.40 ERA. She has four wins on the year and is tied with Kendall Stiefel who is 4-2. Sarah Shotton has two wins on the season and leads the Huskies with 31 strikeouts.

Following the late-week series, Nicholls will hit the road for its next six games, starting April 1 at Grambling.