THIBODAUX, La.  – The Nicholls softball team will look to continue its surge in conference play as the Colonels begin its final road swing with a three-game series at Sam Houston State, starting Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.

Sunday's finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. All three games between the Colonels (19-21, 9-8) and Bearkats (25-19, 11-7) can be listened to on ThibodauxOnline.com.

Nicholls is coming off a split against Central Arkansas last weekend which kept the Colonels over .500 in Southland play. In addition, Nicholls didn't lose any ground in its quest for a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament, currently sitting in fifth place in the standings and a half-game in front of Southeastern La. and Central Arkansas.

After being shutout for 12 straight innings against Central Arkansas, the Colonel bats woke up in the sixth inning of Game 2, getting five runs on five hits including a three-run home run by Brittany Marcet, her second long ball of the season. As a team, the Colonels have only 11 home runs of the year, ranking ninth in the league.

In 17 Southland games, Nicholls is batting .299, which ranks third in the league. The Colonels have four players hitting over .300, headed by leadoff hitter Ashley Bertot at .393. Bertot, who leads Nicholls with 15 multi-hit games this season, ranks seventh in the SLC in batting average for conference games and leads the team with a .351 overall average.

Marcet's current six-game hitting streak has upped her conference average to .385, just one point behind Haley Parkerson. Leah Andrus, who trails Marcet for the team lead in RBIs with 24, is hitting .317 in conference games.

In the circle, the Colonels also rank third in Southland play with a 2.59 team ERA, led by freshman Hannah Haydel's 1.91 mark. Haydel has had an impressive first year for the Colonels, recording seven wins in over 90 innings pitched.

Senior Ashton Bennett picked up the victory last weekend against UCA, improving her record to 11-9 on the season. Bennett, who had six of the Colonels' eight wins in conference last season, has already matched the mark with a 6-4 record.

One of the teams that Nicholls is chasing in the standings is Sam Houston, which sits at in third place and holds a 1.5 game lead over the Colonels. The Bearkats have been on a hot streak as well, winning 10 of its last 12 games. Last weekend, Sam Houston saw its six-game winning streak snapped with a loss against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but the Bearkats bounced back for a win on Sunday to take their third straight Southland series.

Sam Houston comes into the series with a league-best .347 batting average in conference play and has six players batting over .300, including two hitting over .400. Tori Benavidez paces the offense with a .429 average, followed by Jessica Slater at .404. Tiffany Castillo leads the team with 20 RBIs in conference games, with Hillary Adams just one behind. On the year, Adams ranks first in the SLC with 42 RBIs.

The Bearkat pitching staff holds a 3.06 ERA, led by Haley Baros at 2.17. Baros has yet to lose a conference game as she has a perfect 6-0 record with one shutout. Sam Houston has used a three-player rotation in Southland play, with Meme Quinn and Shelby Lancaster each having six starts. Quinn is 4-3 and leads the team with 42 strikeouts, while Lancaster has struggled a bit in conference play, recording only one victory after winning eight games out of conference.

Following the three-game set at Sam Houston, the Colonels will return to Texas next weekend for their final road series of the season as they take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.