THIBODAUX, La. – With their backs against the wall, the Nicholls State University baseball team opens a critical three-game Southland Conference series against the McNeese State Cowboys this weekend at Ray E. Didier Field.

Friday night's opener at 6:30 p.m. against the Cowboys is also Prostate Cancer Awareness night and is sponsored by Terrebonnne General Medical Center. The Colonels will be sporting blue batting helmets and wristbands to commemorate the night, with the helmets being auctioned off during the game with the proceeds going to charity with the auction winners getting them signed by members of the coaching staff and team.

On Saturday, the Nicholls State University College of Business will be hosting an alumni tailgate prior to the game, as those in attendance will also have the chance to watch the game from the deck down the right field line across the street from Barker Hall.

All three games this weekend can be heard on KTIB 640 AM in Thibodaux, online at ThibodauxOnline.com and viewed on Colonels All-Access through your computer or Android mobile device.

The Colonels go into this weekend's series against the Cowboys with some confidence after earning a 4-3 walk-off win against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns Tuesday night. It was the last non-conference midweek home game for the team, as Nicholls closed out that portion of the schedule with a bang in defeating the Cajuns to earn a season series split.

At 18-20 on the season, the Colonels have been better out of conference play than in it, with a record of 16-10 against out-of-conference opponents while sporting an 8-3 record at home in those contests. The team is hoping to extend that confidence into this weekend's series, as another tough set of games could put Nicholls on the brink of being out of the conference tournament race before heading on an eight-game road swing over the next two weeks.

Nicholls has had little trouble over the last week offensively, with Mike Barba leading the Colonel charge at the plate. After struggling two weeks ago, the senior outfielder is on a tear hitting .444 with eight hits in his last five games, while also having a steady glove with two highlight catches in the outfield that ended ULL drives on Tuesday. He had his second walk-off hit of the season on Tuesday, but there would have been no walk-off if not for Keith Cormier's two-run blast to right field that tied the game at 3-all in the eighth.

Next to having some consistency among the starters is Brandon Jackson who is slowly creeping his way into the list with his .325 batting average which is second on the team and best among non-everyday starters. In his last ten he's hitting .395 with 15 hits and five runs scored, while also seeing time on the mound as a reliever and starter.

With the third best ERA in the Southland, it's hard to believe that the Colonels would have just two wins to their credit in league play, as their 3.93 mark hasn't translated over into the weekend as it increases to 5.35 which is eighth overall. Fortunately, the team could get some help from the three who threw on Tuesday in Grant Borne, Zach Thiac and Marc Picciola.

Borne had the only two walks of the night as he went six innings allowing just two runs on five hits and had all five strikeouts. Thiac lasted 1.1 innings giving up one run on three hits, while Picciola earned his first win of the season going the final 1.2 allowing one hit.

At 5-3, Kory Delange has been the only starter to earn a win over the last few weeks, as Mike Suk and Taylor Byrd are hoping to get a notch in the win column this weekend. They will get their chance as the trio will go up against a McNeese State team hitting .270 as a club and .276 in Southland play. The Cowboys are led by Jackson Gooch's .319 average and 44 total hits.

McNeese State has had a steady rotation with Bryce Kingsley and Blake Ware at the top to combine for 11 wins, but the starter on Sunday is a bit up in the air as the coaching staff has rotated multiple players in closing games since league play began.