THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team is set for a three-game away-home-away series against their regional rival and the current Southland Conference Leader, Southeastern La.
The Colonels (11-15, 2-7 SLC) will battle the Lions (20-6, 9-0 SLC) at 6 p.m. on Friday in Hammond, before returning to Thibodaux for a 6 p.m. matchup on Saturday. The teams will close out the weekend on Sunday in Hammond, with first pitch slated for 1 p.m.
Nicholls had lost five consecutive games before a thrilling 5-4 walk-off win over South Alabama in Biloxi on Wednesday night. The Colonels finished the game without committing an error for the first time since their 2-1 victory over Tulane on March 15 in Thibodaux. Prior to Wednesday's contest Nicholls had registered at least one error in eight straight games, going 2-6 over that stretch. The Colonels will look to continue their solid defensive play, and hope to carry both momentum and confidence into their upcoming series.
Southeastern La. has won 14 straight contests, including all nine league games this season. The Lions swept Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Southeastern La. couldn't have entered the weekend much hotter. Over their previous two ballgames the Lions scored 39 runs, while allowing only two.
Two runs might be the magic number this weekend. Nicholls is 7-0 when holding opponents to two or fewer runs, but the Colonels are just 4-15 when opponents score three or more. Conversely, Southeastern La. is 1-4 when scoring two or fewer runs, but the Lions are 19-2 when scoring three or more.
Nicholls owns a 111-82-2 edge in the all-time series against Southeastern La., but the Lions earned a 2-1 series victory last season. Southeastern La. picked up a 3-1 win in Thibodaux and a 7-3 victory in Hammond, before the Colonels closed out the series with a 4-0 win in Thibodaux.
Gavin Wehby leads the Nicholls offense with a .321 average and 11 RBIs, while
Joey Morales had a team-high 29 hits and 11 RBIs.
Ethan Valdez paces the squad with 17 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.
Jameson Fisher is a one-man offensive powerhouse for the Lions. Fisher leads the Southland in batting average, slugging percentage (.869), hits (41), RBIs (33), home runs (eight), sac flies (four), walks (22) and total bases (73). He is also first in the nation in on base percentage (.598) and second in batting average (.488).
Probable Pitching Rotation: NichollsFriday: RHP Justin Sinibaldi (2-3, 3.00 ERA, 36 SO, 42.0 IP)Saturday: RHP Cole Stapler (2-3, 3.20 ERA, 25 SO, 39.1 IP)Sunday: LHP Mike Hanchar (0-3, 5.14 ERA, 18 SO, 21.0 IP) Southeastern La.Friday: LHP Kyle Cedotal (4-2, 1.15 ERA, 54 SO, 47.0 IP)Saturday: RHP Mac Sceroler (3-2, 2.32 ERA, 35 SO, 31.0 IP)Sunday: LHP Domenick Carlini (3-0, 1.24 ERA, 33 SO, 36.1 IP) The Colonels will next head to Beaumont, Texas for a two-game non-conference series against Lamar, beginning at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball, visit geauxcolonels.com.
