NEW ORLEANS, La. – With their backs pressed firmly against the wall, the Nicholls State University baseball team will meet regional rival New Orleans in an away-home-away series with a Southland Conference Tournament appearance on the line.
 
The Colonels (23-30, 11-16 SLC) and Privateers (30-21, 14-13 SLC) will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in New Orleans and 6 p.m. on Friday in Thibodaux. Friday's ballgame will be Senior Day as Nicholls honors its five seniors prior to the game. First pitch for the weekend finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The Colonels are riding high after upsetting No. 11 Tulane on Tuesday night and handing the Green Wave their first shutout loss of the year. The 2-0 victory also completed Nicholls' first season-series sweep of Tulane since 1995. Despite the thrilling win, the Colonels still have their work cut out for them after dropping five of their last six league games.
 
Nicholls currently sits at 10^th in the conference standings and needs to not only take care of business against New Orleans, but to receive a significant amount of help from around the Southland to reach the postseason. The Colonels have to sweep the Privateers this weekend and hope for either Central Arkansas or Houston Baptist to get swept as well.
 
New Orleans fell to the Green Wave, 5-2, on May 10, but shocked the Southland with a 2-1 series victory against league-leading Southeastern Louisiana over the weekend. Just when it looked like the Privateers were a nearly unstoppable force, they suffered a 17-3 pummeling at the hands of Louisiana-Lafayette on Tuesday.
 
New Orleans owns an 83-59 edge in the all-time series against Nicholls, but the Colonels have defeated the Privateers in 11 consecutive meetings. The last time New Orleans earned a victory over Nicholls was more than six years ago.
 
Kyle Knauth spearheads the Colonel offense with a .348 batting average, 56 hits, 30 RBIs, 24 runs and 15 doubles. Gavin Wehby leads the team with 59 hits, while Ethan Valdez has scored a team-high 36 runs. Valdez, Justin Holt and Joey Morales have combined for 35 stolen bases in 43 attempts.
 
Aaron Palmar paces the Privateer offense with a .336 average, 71 hits, 54 runs, 35 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and 12 doubles. Hezekiah Randolph leads the team with 43 RBIs and 15 doubles.
 
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
 
Nicholls
Thursday: RHP Justin Sinibaldi (5-6, 3.52 ERA, 76 SO, 87.0 IP)
Friday: RHP Cole Stapler (4-6, 3.65 ERA, 45 SO, 86.1 IP)
Saturday: LHP Alex Ernestine (3-5, 7.36 ERA, 30 SO, 44.0 IP)
 
New Orleans
Thursday: RHP Riley Hodge (4-4, 4.35 ERA, 66 SO, 80.2 IP)
Friday: LHP Hunter Medine (3-0, 4.42 ERA, 27 SO, 38.2 IP)
Saturday: LHP Bryan Warzek (2-3, 5.48 ERA, 38 SO, 47.2 IP)

For the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball visit geauxcolonels.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_BASE.