THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team will host a pivotal Southland Conference series against Northwestern State this weekend, but before the Colonels can set their sights on the Demons, Nicholls will have to get past a midweek warm-up against Alcorn State.
 
The Colonels (21-27, 11-13 SLC) and Braves (15-31, 14-13 SWAC) will meet at Ray E. Didier Field on Wednesday night, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
 
Nicholls appeared to be hitting its stride after a 3-0 series sweep of McNeese, but the Colonels suffered a midweek loss to ULM and are coming off of a disappointing 2-1 series defeat at the hands of Houston Baptist.
 
Alcorn State is riding a four-game losing streak and coming off of a 3-0 series sweep by Virginia Tech. The Braves are 0-2 against Southland opponents and 1-18 outside of SWAC action.
 
Nicholls is 24-0 in the all-time series against Alcorn State. The Colonels cruised to a 14-3 victory over the Braves in their most recent meeting on March 31, last season in Thibodaux.
 
Kyle Reese spearheads the Nicholls offense with a .345 batting average, 40 hits, 24 RBIs and 17 runs. Kyle Knauth maintains a .340 average, with 28 RBIs, 21 runs and 13 doubles. Gavin Wehby paces the Colonels with 54 hits, to go along with 27 runs and 25 RBIs. Ethan Valdez leads the team with 35 runs and Justin Holt has a team-leading 13 stolen bases.
 
Cedric Bell paces the Alcorn State offense with a .361 average, 30 hits, 24 RBIs and 12 runs. Wallace Rios leads the team with 54 hits, while Collin Carroll has team-highs in both runs (27) and RBIs (27).
 
Starting pitchers for Wednesday's matchup have not been announced.
 
Nicholls will host Northwestern State at 6 p.m. on Friday. Game two is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, with the finale scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Nicholls will then face Tulane at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17 in New Orleans.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball visit geauxcolonels.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_BASE.