THIBODAUX, La.  – With only three games remaining in the regular season, the Nicholls State University baseball team will aim to capture its first Southland Conference championship in school history as the Colonels host in-state rival McNeese State at Ray E. Didier Field for their 2014 season finale.
 
The three-game series will start Thursday night at 6 p.m., followed by a Friday night matchup, also at 6 p.m. The Colonels and Cowboys will wrap up the regular season on Saturday at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on KTIB 640 AM and a live video stream is available via Colonels All Access on geauxcolonels.com.
 
Friday night's game will serve as the first ever Bark at the Park. Fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to the field to enjoy the game. For more details about the event, please click here. Friday will also serve as Senior Day as head coach Seth Thibodeaux will recognize his 2014 senior class of Taylor Byrd, Keith Cormier, Tyler Duplantis, Brandon Jackson, Philip Lyons, Marc Picciola, Cody Tillotson and Leo Vargas before the game.
 
In order to grab a share of the regular season championship, Nicholls (29-24, 18-9) will first need to sweep McNeese State (28-23, 17-10). Sam Houston and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which are tied for first and lead Nicholls by one game, will square off against each other this weekend. Along with a Colonel sweep, Nicholls would need both teams to lose at least one game. If either Sam Houston or Corpus wins all three games, that team would win the title outright.
 
Along with vying for their first championship since joining the Southland in 1992, Nicholls can secure its first 30-win campaign since '93 with a victory, which would also clinch the team's first winning season since 2002. The 18 wins in conference for the Colonels are already a team-best, eclipsing the mark of 15 victories which was achieved in three different seasons.
 
The Colonels are coming off a series win at Stephen F. Austin last weekend after taking games two and three. In the wins, Colonel starters Grant Borne and Brandon Jackson each tossed eight shutout innings. Borne, who is scheduled to pitch Friday night against the Cowboys, received a no-decision last Saturday after running into trouble in the ninth, and Jackson went on to notch his fourth win of the year after his performance on Sunday.
 
McNeese heads to Thibodaux after falling in its series to Southeastern Louisiana. The Cowboys gave up a combined 23 runs in game one and two's losses, but avoided the sweep with a 5-3 win on Sunday. McNeese has secured a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament and will be looking to improve its standings.
 
Thursday night's game features a stellar pitching matchup as southpaw Byrd (7-3, 2.11 ERA) will square off against right-hander Kaleb Fontenot (5-1, 2.38). Byrd heads into the final weekend ranked second in the Southland in earned run average and strikeouts (76). Borne, who will pitch against right-hander Bryce Kingsley (5-3, 5.64), is third in strikeouts (73) and Jackson (3-2, 2.73) will take the mound on Saturday with McNeese's starter yet to be announced.
 
As a team, Nicholls posts a .246 batting average, but have hit a little better in conference games at .255. Two of the reasons for the higher average in conference play have been Vargas and Seth Stevens. In 18 games played, Stevens leads the team with a .350 average in conference games while Vargas has a .340 average and a team-high 11 stolen bases. For the year, both are a shade under .300 as Vargas is second on the squad at .297, followed by Stevens at .294. Cormier is the lone Colonel to bat .300 and leads the team with 12 doubles and 41 RBIs.
 
McNeese is batting .280 on the year and also has the same average in conference play. Chayse Marion heads the team with a .338 average and is tied with Jackson Gooch, who is second in hitting at .330, for the team lead in RBIs at 38. Andrew Guillotte is hitting .315 and has a team-high 14 doubles.
 
The Colonels swept McNeese last season in Thibodaux, winning 4-3, 9-2 and 6-0. Jackson tossed a six-hit shutout in the final game and Cormier capped the series with a solo home run in the eighth.
 
Following the series, Nicholls will play in the Southland Conference Tournament in Conway, Ark., scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 21.