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THIBODAUX, La. - Winners of 13 of their last 14, the No. 2-seed Nicholls State University softball team begins postseason play on Wednesday in the opening day of the Southland Conference Tournament. Fueled by a 13-game winning streak, the Colonels secured a bye in the tournament, which will be their first appearance in the postseason since 2010. Nicholls awaits the winner of 3-seed Lamar vs. 6-seed Sam Houston.

FOLLOWING ALONG
The first nine games of the 2016 Southland Tournament will be streamed live for free on the Southland Digital Network, including Southland.org/watch and the league's mobile and tablet apps. The championship round will be an exclusive presentation of ESPN3, available via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. Chris Mycoskie, Assistant Commissioner of Television and Electronic Media for the Southland Conference, will handle play-by play for all games. Former Houston outfielder Sidney Gerbracht will join him for the championship as the color analyst. All links, including live stats, will be available on geauxcolonels.com.

TOURNAMENT TWEETABLES
• Nicholls will play in the Southland Tournament for the 10th time in program history and first since 2010.
• The Colonels are 19-15 all-time with their most recent win coming in 2008 as they defeated UTA, 5-2, in eight innings to reach the title game.
• Nicholls is the 2-seed for the 3rd time in program history. The Colonels are 8-3 as a 2-seed with one title ('97) and one runner up ('98).
• The 2-seed is the highest for the program since '98. Nicholls claimed the top-seed once in 1996, resulting in their first tournament title.
• It will mark the first postseason matchup against Lamar if the Cardinals advance. Nicholls is 2-0 against Sam Houston ('03 and '08).
• Along with Sam, Nicholls has played three teams in the postseason that are in the 2016 tourney. Nicholls is 2-0 vs McNeese and 0-2 vs SFA.

MORE TWEETS
• The Colonels' 38 overall wins and 21 SLC victories are the most for the program since 1998. Only 7 teams have won 40 in a single season.
• The Colonels had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2009-10. Nicholls was 26-22 last season, but finished 7th in the SLC.
• Nicholls finished the regular season ranked 6th in the NCAA in ERA at 1.86. Hannah Haydel was 13th (1.42)and Megan Landry was 44th (1.84).
• Nicholls had two lengthy winning streaks this season, winning 8 straight from March 20 - April 5 and 13 consecutive from April15 - May 7.
• With its last three-game series sweep coming in 2013, Nicholls swept five Southland opponents this season, including No. 4-seed UCA. 

MAJOR AWARDS
The Colonels took home three of the Southland's highest honors as senior pitcher Hannah Haydel was named Pitcher of the Year, shortstop Amanda Gianelloni garnered Freshman of the Year and head coach Angel Santiago earned Coach of the Year.

ALL-SOUTHLAND
Nicholls had a total of seven players recognized on the All-Southland honors released Monday. Pitcher Hannah Haydel, shortstop Amanda Gianelloni and senior outfielder Danielle Phillips were named First Team, while  freshmen Gretchen Morgan (Designated Player) and Veronica Villafranco (Utility) garnered Second Team. Receiving honorable mention were senior first baseman Alexis Huss and freshman pitcher Megan Landry.

ALL-SLC TWEETABLES
• The three First Team honorees for Nicholls was the most since 1997.
• Hannah Haydel led the Southland in wins, ERA and opponent batting average. She is the fifth Colonel to win Pitcher of the Year.
• Amanda Gianelloni is the second Colonel in the last two years to earn FOY. She is also the only rookie this season to be named First Team.
• Angel Santiago led Nicholls to a 12-win improvement from 2015 and 9-plus in the SLC. He's the third coach to win COY in program history.
• Danielle Phillips received All-SLC for the third time in her career. She was 3rd-Team OF in '13, 2nd-Team 2B in '14 and 1st-Team OF in '16.

U CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Hannah Haydel celebrated 90's Night at the Colonel Softball Complex by tossing her first career no-hitter in Nicholls' 1-0 victory over Northwestern State on April 22. Eight days later, she carried a no-hitter into the 7th at Southeastern, but a leadoff bunt broke up her bid for her second blank sheet in as many weekend. 

HANNAH'S HARDWARE
Hannah Haydel had a remarkable senior season and it definitely did not go unnoticed. The Ama, La. native went 22-7 overall with a 1.43 ERA and 15-2 in league play with a 1.24 ERA. Below is a list of accolades she's received already this season.
• Southland Pitcher of the Year
• First Team All-Southland
• CoSIDA Academic All-District
• Southland All-Academic First Team (Automatic Selection)
• Three-time SLC Pitcher of the Week
• Four-time LSWA Pitcher of the Week

RED HOT
Amanda Gianelloni, better known as "Red", was the Colonels' offensive MVP in her first season as she led the team in 11 offensive categories. The Napoleonville, La. native was also ranked in the top 10 in the Southland in batting average (.389/5th), runs (39/t-8th), slugging (.660/5th), hits (63/3rd), triples (6/2nd), on-base (.457/9th) and RBIs (40/t-7th). 

IT'S A WALK OFF
The Colonels had several late-game heroics this season, including three walk off wins at home against conference foes. Two came against UCA in 10 innings as Haley Parkerson singled home a run in the opener, and Danielle Phillips ended the series with a 2-run game-winning single. In the Colonels' second game against Lamar, Amanda Gianelloni tied the score at 4-all with a two-out 2-run single in the bottom of the seventh, and then delivered the game-winner in the ninth with a bases loaded single to right center.

TICKET INFORMATION
Adult all-tournament passes are available for $21 and $11 for youth. Tickets will also be available for each day of the tournament. A single-day pass is $11 for adults and $6 for youth. For ticket purposes, a youth is any child ages 5-17. All students from Southland Conference schools will receive free admission with a valid student ID, and all children ages four and younger will also be admitted free. To purchase tickets, contact the McNeese Athletics Ticket Office at 337-562-4678 or visit mcneesesports.com.

2016 Southland Conference Tournament Schedule
Wed., May 11
(G1) 11 a.m.- No. 3 Lamar vs. No. 6 Sam Houston State
(G2) 1:30 p.m.- No. 4 Central Arkansas vs. No. 5 Stephen F. Austin
(G3) 4 p.m.- No. 2 Nicholls vs. G1 Winner
(G4) 6:30 p.m.- No. 1 McNeese vs. G2 Winner
 
Thur., May 12
(G5) 11 a.m.- Loser G1 vs. Loser G4
(G6) 1:30 p.m.- Loser G2 vs. Loser G3
(G7) 4 p.m.- Winner G3 vs. Winner G4
(G8) 6:30 p.m.- Winner G5 vs. Winner G6
 
Fri., May 13
(G9) 10:30 a.m.- Loser G7 vs. Winner G8
(G10) 2 p.m.- Winner G7 vs. Winner G9
*(G11) TBA
*-If necessary