CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After picking up consecutive victories over Tulane and Southern, the Nicholls State University baseball team will travel to the Lone Star State and return to Southland Conference action with a three-game series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
The Colonels (9-9, 1-2 SLC) will face the Islanders (7-8, 0-0 SLC) at 6 p.m. on Friday, 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
TAMUCC owns a 19-10 edge over Nicholls in the all-time series, and earned a 2-1 series win last season at Ray E. Didier Field. The Islanders picked up a 7-0 victory in game one and a 4-0 win in game two, before falling to the Colonels, 3-2, in the finale.
 
Nicholls started its 2016 campaign with a four-game sweep of Mississippi Valley State, but faltered against more challenging competition. The Colonels fell to Alabama, UMass Lowell, Mississippi State and No. 5 LSU, before entering league play. Nicholls showed flashes of brilliance in its Southland-opening series against Abilene Christian, but the Colonels were unable to put everything together, falling 2-1. Nicholls responded with a 2-1 series win of its own over Sacred Heart, before downing Tulane and Southern in consecutive matchups. The Colonels enter this weekend's series playing their best ball of the season.
 
TAMUCC won three of its first four games to open the year, but dropped seven of its next nine. The Islanders lost to Central Florida, Michigan State and Texas State, but picked up a victory over league opponent Houston Baptist. TAMUCC is coming off of a 2-0 series sweep of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
 
Kyle Reese leads the Nicholls offense with a .408 average, 29 hits, 22 RBIs, 12 runs, four doubles and three stolen bases. Ethan Valdez paces the squad with 15 runs scored and nine stolen bases.
 
Zach Gibson leads the Islanders with a .389 average, 21 hits, 16 runs and eight RBIs. Zacarias Hardy has team-highs in both hits (22) and RBIs (16).
 
Probable Weekend Rotation
 
Nicholls:
RHP Justin Sinibaldi  (2-2, 2.67 ERA, 28 SO, 27.0 IP)
RHP Cole Stapler       (2-2, 3.70 ERA, 22 SO, 24.1 IP)
TBA
 
TAMUCC:
LHP Chris Falwell      (0-0, 1.66 ERA, 25 SO, 21.2 IP)
RHP Devin Skapura   (1-2, 3.43 ERA, 13 SO, 21.0 IP)
TBA
 
Following this weekend's series, the Colonels will return to Thibodaux for a three-game home stand against Sam Houston, beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 24. Nicholls will then host Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29, live on Cox Sports Television.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball, visit geauxcolonels.com.