THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls softball team hits the road for the final time this season as the Colonels make their longest trip of the year, taking on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a critical three-game series.

The series will start Saturday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader, followed by Sunday's finale at 12 p.m. All three games will feature live stats and a video broadcast is available on goislanders.com for a small fee.

With six games remaining, the Colonels (19-24, 9-11) will have to put last weekend's sweep to Sam Houston quickly behind them in order to stay in postseason contention. After dropping all three games to the Bearkats, Nicholls sits 1.5 games out of the sixth and final spot in the Southland Conference Tournament. The Colonels headed into the week only trailing Southeastern La. by a half-game, but forfeitures by Houston Baptist gave the Lady Lions a game in the standings. SLU and Lamar both hold an 11-10 record in conference play.

Although A&M-Corpus Christi (9-35, 4-17) is currently in last place, the Colonels have struggled on the road this season, posting a 5-12 overall record and 3-6 in conference. While the team has a respectable .274 batting average, the Colonels have been outscored 94-70 despite having six one-run losses. The pitching staff has a 5.35 ERA in road games and has allowed opposing batters to hit at a .305 clip.

At the plate, senior Ashley Bertot reached 50 hits for her second straight season and leads the team with a .350 average. Junior Brittany Marcet, who heads into the series with a 16-game on-base streak, is next with a .336 average and is tied with senior Leah Andrus with 27 RBIs. Last weekend, Danielle Phillips led Nicholls on offense with five hits and three RBIs.

In conference play, senior Ashton Bennett heads the pitching staff with a 6-6 record with 31 strikeouts while freshman Hannah Haydel is 3-5 with a team-best 2.32 ERA. But in nine Southland road games, Haydel's ERA is 3.45 and Bennett's jumps to 5.65.

The Islanders head into the weekend looking for their first Southland series victory. A&M-Corpus Christi started the conference season on a good note with a 4-3 win over Houston Baptist; however, went on to lose 14 of its next 15 contests.

Overall, the Islander rank last in the conference in team ERA (5.35) and second to last in batting average (.228) and fielding percentage (.946). In conference games, they are batting .243 with Lindsey Lyles leading the squad at .351 with 13 RBIs. Constance Brandenburg heads the pitching staff with a 4.42 ERA and a 3-6 record in Southland games.

Following the series, Nicholls will close out the season next weekend with a three-game set against McNeese State. Saturday's doubleheader will be Strike Out Cancer Day, with Sunday being Senior Day.