THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team will open its 2015 season with a three-game series against Stony Brook, beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday at Ray E. Didier Field.
 
First pitch for Saturday's game is slated for 1 p.m. with Sunday's matchup set to begin at 11 a.m.
 
The Colonels are set to throw right-handed pitcher Marc Frazier (0.92 ERA in 2014) on Friday, lefty Grant Borne (2.97 ERA in 2014) on Saturday and righty Justin Sinibaldi (5.40 ERA in 2014) on Sunday.
 
The Seawolves will start left-hander Tyler Honahan (2.89 ERA in 2014) on Friday, southpaw Daniel Zamora (first outing) on Saturday and right-handed pitcher Ryley MacEacherm (3.71 ERA in 2014) on Sunday.
 
Last year Nicholls was picked to finish eighth by the league's skippers and ninth by the Southland sports information directors in preseason polls, but silenced all critics, finishing second overall. The Colonels are coming off of a 32-26 campaign in 2014, the first 30-win season for the program since 1993. The Nicholls pitching staff finished first in the conference in ERA (2.59). The squad was also first in the nation in double plays, and returns several key players, including Borne, first baseman David Zorn, catcher Christian Correa and RHP Ryan Deems. Head Coach Seth Thibodeaux was named the Coach of the Year for the Southland in 2014.
 
This season the Colonels were tabbed to finish fifth by the coaches' poll and seventh by the SID poll the league office announced back on Jan. 28. A week ago today, Borne was named to the preseason All-Southland First Team.
 
Borne led Nicholls' top-ranked pitching unit in 2014, and finished as one of the top ten pitchers in the conference. Last year, he threw 81 strikeouts and posted and 8-3 Record through 15 appearances. Borne tossed 100 innings, allowed just 33 earned runs and held opponents to a .249 batting average.
 
Stony Brook returns six starters from last year's team, which finished 35-18 overall. Sophomore Casey Baker leads the Seawolves offensively, hitting .338 in 2014. Cole Peragine finished with a .287 average last season and was named to the America East First Team. Robert Chavarria notched an average of .292.
 
The Colonels led the Southland Conference in pitching last year, but were second to last in batting average, hitting .248 collectively. Seth Stevens returns as the leading hitter for Nicholls, batting .282. For perspective, Stony Brook hit .282 as a team in 2014. This weekend's matchup will be a battle between an outstanding pitching staff for the Colonels and an explosive offensive from the Seawolves.
 
Nicholls will play 30 home games in 2015, among 55 regular-season contests beginning against Stony Brook on Friday. The Colonels will host Southern at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17. This weekend's action can be heard on KTIB 640 AM locally in Thibodaux.
 
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats, video and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball.