THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University softball team gets its Southland Conference slate started with a three-game series against Stephen F. Austin at Swanner Field at Geo Surfaces Park.
Friday's doubleheader (March 6) will start at 4 p.m. with Saturday's finale on ESPN+ scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday will serve as their Autism Awareness Game and fans are encouraged to wear blue to show their support.
Nicholls (10-9) posted a winning record heading into league play, helped by a six-game winning streak. A setback in its home debut against Southern Miss led to a five-game skid with four losses coming in the LSU Invitational, but the Colonels had a thrilling comeback to knock off Memphis, 8-7, in the finale.
Earlier this week, the Red and Gray headed to South Alabama and fell 4-1 to the Jaguars. In the loss,
Claire Sisco continued her offensive onslaught with two hits including a double, and
Erin Krause made history by becoming only the seventh player in program history to reach 100 RBIs.
Sisco (.433) and Krause (.411) are two of the four players in the Southland this season with .400 or better batting averages, joined by Stephen F. Austin's Ellie Vance who is tops in the league at .438. Sisco also has 14 stolen bases while
Laylin Sturm has a team-high 15, helping the Colonels to the No. 7 rank in the NCAA with 49 steals.
In the circle,
Molly Yoo is 5-3 with a 2.58 ERA and 42 strikeouts after tossing a perfect outing in relief against South Alabama where she retired all 13 batters she faced. Last season in league play, Yoo was 6-3 with a 3.26 ERA while
Averi Paden posted a perfect 8-0 mark in SLC games with a team best 2.79 ERA. Paden has made five starts this year and is 3-2 with a 3.78 ERA. Freshman
Ashley Little rounds out the leaders on the staff with a 2-1 record in 22.1 innings pitched.
SFA (14-8) comes to town on a two-game skid but also had a successful nonconference showing. The Lumberjacks have belted 16 home runs this season and the pitching staff ranks 26th in the NCAA with a 2.41 ERA.
Crimson Bryant has seen the bulk of the innings in the circle with over 50 pitched and leads the SLC with 57 strikeouts. Kai Hudson is 3-0 on the season and has the best ERA in the league at 0.98.
Nicholls won the series last year in Nacogdoches before the teams squared off twice in the Hammond Bracket in the SLC Tournament. SFA won the opener, 7-4, before Nicholls took the elimination game, 11-1, in five innings.
