THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University baseball team begins the 2024 season with a three-game series at home, hosting Sacred Heart on Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field.
Friday's opener (Feb. 16) and Saturday's matchup are scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday's finale will be at noon.
Nicholls is coming off the program's first Southland Conference regular season title, led by third-year head coach
Mike Silva. In additional to winning the regular season crown, the Colonels went unbeaten in the SLC Tournament en route to the program's first title since 1998.
With six preseason All-Southland selections, the Colonels were voted to repeat as champs in the preseason poll. Headlining the preseason selections are first-team selections first baseman
Edgar Alvarez, shortstop
Parker Coddou, relief pitcher
Gavin Galy, and starting pitcher
Jacob Mayers. Outfielder
Garrett Felix and second baseman MaCrae Kendrink was aso preseason selections, being named to second team.
Mayers is scheduled to start in Friday night's opener. In his rookie season, he went 9-1 with a 2.02 ERA and totaled 105 strikeouts. In his Colonel debut last season, Mayers struck out nine batters and allowed no hits in 5.0 innings of work to lead Nicholls to an 8-3 win over Lindenwood.
Also set to take the mound are newcomer Jake Nelson (Saturday) and
Michael Quevedo (Sunday). Nelson joined the staff after pitching at Indian Hills Community College. Quevedo went 4-2 in his first season with the Colonels, highlighted by a win in the SLC title game against New Orleans.
Sacred Heart is coming off a 28-30 season and posted a winning mark in NEC play at 17-13. The Colonels and Pioneers had one common opponent last year, Boston College. Sacred Heart battled the Eagles in an 8-7 loss while Nicholls fell to BC in the Tuscaloosa Regional, 14-6.
Nicholls and Sacred Heart last played in 2018 with the Colonels sweeping the two-game series with 10-0 and 21-6 victories.
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