THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University baseball team will host Northwestern State University on Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray E. Didier Field on April 12-14.
Games one and two on Friday and Saturday nights will begin at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+ and Sunday's contest will begin at 1 p.m.
Last week, the Colonels dropped a mid-week game to Louisiana and swept Southeastern to improve to 23-11 overall and 6-3 in league action. The Demons enter the weekend 11-22 overall and 4-5 in SLC play after losing a series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Nicholls has one of the most efficient and productive offenses in the nation. Currently the Colonels have scored the 12th most runs (300), and hits (358), while boasting the 16th best batting average (.317). Additionally, the unit has 14th most doubles (77), 31st most walks (184), and 27th best on base percentage (.422). The Red & Gray sit atop the Southland Conference in those statistical categories.
The Colonels' offense is led by
Edgar Alvarez,
Parker Coddou and reigning SLC Hitter of the Week
Garrett Felix.
Felix earned the award by putting together an impressive week for the Colonels as he hit 7-for-14 (.500), including two doubles and three RBI across four games. He also added six walks to post a .650 on-base percentage and scored five times. After the productive week, Felix now has the eighth most doubles (10) and RBI (27), and 10th (20) most walks in the SLC. Additionally, he has the fourth most stolen bases (9) and ninth best on base percentage (.437).
Alvarez boasts the nation's sixth-best batting average (.451), ninth most hits (55), seventh most doubles (15), and his 30 free passes help him hold the 13th best on base percentage (.548). Coddou is batting .316 with 43 hits including 10 doubles. He also has 20 RBI and has scored a SLC-high 44 runs.
In the bullpen, starting pitchers
Jacob Mayers (4.08) and
Michael Quevedo (4.46) have combined for six wins and 105 strikeouts. Mayers leads the SLC in strikeouts (62) and strikeouts per nine innings (14.07), which rank 24th and 17th nationally. He also holds the league's best opponents batting average (.155).
Quevedo is coming off one of the best performances of his career. Last time on the mound, he earned his fourth victory of the season as he registered a career-best 11 strikeouts against Southeastern. Quevedo finished with four earned runs on four hits in 7.1 innings and did not allow a hit until a solo home run in the fifth. He currently ranks 10th in opponents' batting average (.253), sixth in total strikeouts (43) in the SLC.
The Demons are led by Reese Lipoma who bats .298 and has seven doubles and 22 RBI. Rocco Gump and Colin Rains hit .282 apiece while adding 23 and 14 RBI, respectively. On the hill, Dawson Flowers and Chase Prestwich have ERA's of 5.63 and 6.86.
