THIBODAUX, La. – After winning its conference-opening series, the Nicholls State University baseball team will step back out of Southland play with a home-and-home two-game set against the 5th-ranked Louisiana Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, starting Tuesday night in Lafayette with a 6 p.m. first pitch.

The Colonels (10-10) will then host ULL (17-2) on Wednesday night, also at 6 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on the airways, with KTIB 640 AM carrying Tuesday's game and KNSU 91.5 FM will have Wednesday's contest.

Nicholls heads into the series coming off a 7-5 15-inning loss to Houston Baptist on Saturday night, but the Colonels won the first two games to clinch the series. Behind two solid outings from starters Taylor Bird and Grant Borne, the Colonels won on Friday night, 4-2, before winning the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 5-3.

Senior shortstop Leo Vargas had a notable week at the plate, batting .467 (7-for-15) with four runs, two stolen bases and he hit safely in all four contests to extend his on-base streak to nine games. Vargas leads the Colonels with a .314 average and 16 runs scored.

Scheduled to start on the mound for the Colonels are southpaw Mike Hanchar (0-1, 1.29 ERA) on Tuesday and right-hander Brandon Jackson (1-1, 2.12) on Wednesday. Hanchar has been the Colonels' Tuesday night guy so far this season, posting an 0-1 record with a 1.29 ERA in three starts. His lone loss came last week at No. 3 LSU where he surrendered two runs on two hits in five innings on the mound. Jackson's last outing came on March 7 against BYU, as he took the loss after allowing 10 hits, three earned runs and struck out five in six innings.

The Ragin' Cajuns head into the series on a seven-game winning streak after they swept in-state rival ULM. In the series' finale, ULL plastered the Warhawks 21-2 behind 22 hits. ULL's last loss came on March 2 against then-ranked No. 21 Alabama, but not before taking the first two games against the Crimson Tide. The Ragin' Cajuns have three wins against ranked opponents, including a 4-1 win over LSU.

ULL posts a .296 batting average, led by Blake Trahan with a .373 average. Jace Conrand is one of two Cajuns with four home runs on the year, and he leads the team with 20 RBIs.

On the bump, ULL has a team 2.30 ERA and 135 strikeouts. Probable starters for the matchups against the Colonels are Matt Plitt (1-0, 1.88 ERA) and left-hander Ryan Wilson (1-0, 2.79).

Following the series against ULL, Nicholls will head to Beaumont for a three-game set at Lamar. Friday's opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.