THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team had a rough start to their weekend against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but a walk-off bunt single on Sunday reenergized the Colonels heading into a non-conference matchup against Lamar University beginning at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Ray E. Didier Field.
 
Nicholls will wear specially made green jerseys on St. Patrick's day, and auction them off at the conclusion of Tuesday's game to raise funds for a bone marrow transplant for Thibodaux resident and Nicholls supporter, Joe Fakier.
 
The Student Programming Association will also hold a tailgate party at 5 p.m., complete with free hot dogs and t-shirts for the first 100 fans in attendance. DJ Mike Gros will provide music for the event. All donations and funds generated from the auction will benefit Mr. Fakier.
 
The Cardinals (7-11, 0-6 SLC) were not included in the conference schedule for the Colonels (10-7-1, 3-3 SLC) this season, so the teams agreed to meet for a pair of non-conference ballgames instead. The teams will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 3 p.m. on Wednesday at The Did.
 
Nicholls won its opening conference series against Abilene Christian 2-1, on the road, before dropping their series against the Islanders 1-2, at home over the weekend. Lamar opened its season 6-2, but has lost nine of its last 10 contests, including a six-game losing streak in conference play.
 
The Cardinals own the all-time series against the Colonels 54-34, but Nicholls swept all three meetings last season.
 
The Colonels are fourth in the nation and first in the Southland Conference with a 1.82 ERA. Nicholls is set to throw righty Ryan Deemes (2-0) on Tuesday and lefty Alex Ernestine (1-1) on Wednesday. Deemes has an ERA of 0.92 with 22 strikeouts through 19.2 innings of work this year. Ernestine carries a 1.35 ERA and has fanned five batters through 6.2 innings on the hill this season.
 
Lamar will throw right-hander Jason McKinley (0-0) on Tuesday and southpaw Cody Laird on Wednesday. McKinley has tossed just one inning this year and has a 9.00 ERA, while Laird will see his first action of the season against the Colonels.
 
Frazier is the only Nicholls player batting over .300 who's seen significant playing time this season. Frazier has a .327 average, seven RBIs, six runs scored and two home runs on the year. Justin Holt leads the squad with 13 runs and Christian Correa has a team-leading nine RBIs.
 
The Cardinals have five players hitting higher than .300, led by Jake Nash's .396 average. Brandon Provost paces the team with 10 RBIs, while Stijn van der Meer has scored a team-high 13 runs.
 
The Colonels will host Lamar on Tuesday and Wednesday, before hitting the road for a three-game conference series against Sam Houston State this weekend. Tuesday's matchup will be broadcast live on KNSU 91.5 FM, while Wednesday's game will be carried on KTIB 640 AM.
 
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats, video and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball.