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THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team will face the University of Central Arkansas in its final series of the regular season, beginning Thursday at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.

The contests on Thursday and Friday will commence at 6 p.m. with the finale starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday. A ceremony honoring the seniors will take place before the game on Friday.  

The Colonels (23-30, 11-16 SLC) are one of five teams vouching for the final two spots in the Southland Conference Tournament. There are multiple scenarios where Nicholls gets in, but the Red and Gray must win two games against the Bears (32-20, 17-10 SLC) at minimum and get some help from other teams.

The Colonels had won four of its past six league contests before getting swept by UNO this past weekend. Senior left-handed pitcher Alex Ernestine allowed just one hit through seven innings on Saturday, but a single followed by back-to-back doubles gave the Privateers a 2-0 lead, which was enough to win.
 
Senior outfielder Chet Niehaus had a 21-game hitting streak end on Sunday. It marked just the second time since 2003 that a Nicholls student-athlete recorded a hit in at least 20 consecutive contests. The other occurrence was Brandt Boudreaux's 20-game hitting streak in 2008.
 
Fellow senior outfielder Lee Clark rides a 23-game reached base streak into the series. In league play, Clark fronts the squad with 14 extra-base hits.
 
Senior Joey Morales (.395) and Niehaus (.306) spearhead the Colonels offensively in SLC affairs. Morales' 45 hits sits atop the conference.
 
UCA dropped two out of three games to Southeastern Louisiana over the weekend before picking up a win against Little Rock on Tuesday. The Bears rested ace Tyler Gray in their last series, but he is scheduled to pitch on Thursday against Nicholls. Gray ranks second in the league with 106 strikeouts.
 
UCA outfielder Hunter Strong has a team-high .355 batting average and 44 RBIs. The Bears team batting average of .291 is second in the Southland.

Pitching Probables
Thursday: LHP Alex Ernestine (4-5, 6.25) vs. RHP Tyler Gray (6-1, 3.05)
Friday: RHP Cayden Hatcher (3-7, 4.29) vs. RHP Tanner Wiley (4-2, 4.09)
Saturday: RHP Jacob Bedevian (2-6, 6.26) vs. RHP Cody Davenport (5-3, 4.35)

Visit geauxcolonels.com and follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_BASE for the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball. Season tickets, six suite tickets per game at $20/ticket, 15- and 25-game flex packages and Coaches Committee passes are available for purchase. Contact the ticket office at 985-448-4790 or go to www.nichollstickets.com for more information.