THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University softball team will take on nationally-ranked South Alabama on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. at the Colonel Softball Complex.
 
Nicholls (6-4) is coming off a 1-3 weekend in the Samford Softball Classic in Birmingham, Ala. After a pair of 4-3 losses to open the classic, including a nine-inning setback to host Samford, the Colonels picked up a 10-6 victory over Gardner-Webb. Looking to head back to Thibodaux with a split, Nicholls came up short against Murray State for the second time over the weekend, falling 11-3 on Sunday.
 
Danielle Phillips and Kayla Prater led the Colonels at the plate, batting .333 and .308, respectively, and combining for nine runs driven in. As a team though, Nicholls hit only .222 for the weekend while their opponents batted .333. The Colonels' pitching staff also cooled off, posting a 5.75 ERA.
 
For the season, the Colonels' batting average dipped below .300 at .293, but still they have four players who are hitting .300 or better. Haley Stevenson leads the way at .464, followed by Prater (.355), Alexis Huss (.345) and Payton Gremillion (.313). Huss has two of the Colonels' four home runs on the year, with Phillips and Laura Neil recording the other two.
 
South Alabama (7-2) comes to Thibodaux riding a six-game winning streak after sweeping their Mardi Gras Invitational last weekend by going 4-0. USA opened the weekend with a win over Oklahoma State before defeating Lipscomb and Butler on Saturday. The Jaguars closed out play on Sunday with a 10-2 five-inning victory over Evansville.
 
USA is hitting .338 as a team, led by Stephanie Pilkington with a .455 average. Amanda Herron and Chloe Rathburn are also hitting over .400 for the Jaguars and they have three other players who are batting .300 or better. Rathburn and Amanda Minahan have a team-high eight RBIs, leading a total of seven players with four or more runs driven in.
 
The South Alabama pitching staff has been lights out so far this season, posting a 1.45 earned run average with 73 strikeouts versus 29 walks. Teams are batting only .178 against them, aided by the Jaguars' main starter Devin Brown's .173 average. On the year, Brown has a 4-1 record, a 2.05 ERA and 54 strikeouts.
 
The Colonels and Jaguars met once last season with USA defeating Nicholls 2-0 in Mobile. Despite a four-hitter from Jackie Johnson, Nicholls was on the wrong end of a perfect game as Hannah Campbell fanned 12 Colonels as she faced the minimum. Rathburn provided the offense for USA with a 2-run home run.