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February 14, 2017
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February 14, 2017
After a long, hard-fought offseason, the Nicholls baseball team is healthy again.
That usually means bad things are in store for the rest of the Southland Conference.
Fresh off a disappointing, injury-plagued season that saw the Colonels miss the Southland Tournament for the first time since 2013, Nicholls is eager to get rolling in 2017 – a year filled with high hopes for fans and coaches alike.
Colonels coach Seth Thibodeaux said throughout the offseason that the goal for the new season is clear: win the Southland and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
“We didn’t take much pleasure in not being able to play in the Southland Tournament – I can assure you of that,” Thibodeaux said during offseason training. “But we refocused. We reset our minds, and we got back into the right mindset. Our players are positive and they’re committed to working hard, and we’re very ready to get back out onto that field and compete at a high level again.”
Injuries killed the Colonels’ hopes last year.
Up and down the depth chart, the Colonels had players go down, which watered down a slow start and put Nicholls behind the 8-ball in the conference standings.
The Colonels rallied late in the season, but couldn’t get into the postseason field, which Thibodeaux said was a motivating tool for the Colonels throughout the entire offseason.
“I think everyone’s been very motivated, which has helped us,” Thibodeaux said. “I think everyone sort of understood and rallied behind the fact that we all knew we had an opportunity to be a lot better than the result we got last year at the end of the season.”
This year, the Colonels are healthy, and they’re ready to do damage.
Offensive, Nicholls returns its leading hitter Kyle Knauth – a catcher/first baseman who stroked for a .347 average last year.
Also back are outfielders Quade Smith and Gavin Wehby, as well as infielder Ethan Valdez.
On the mound, Nicholls will be guided by senior Cole Stapler – a powerful righty that finished last season with a 3-4 record and a 3.28 ERA.
Thibodeaux said he also expects strong contributions from a recruiting class that he said was among the best he’s had in a while at Nicholls.
“We will have a lot of competition for a lot of spots,” he said.
Nicholls will open its season with a clear look at how it stacks up with other quality foes.
The Colonels open the season this weekend at Houston. While there, the Colonels will play two games with Wake Forest and one with the hosting Cougars.
On Tuesday, Nicholls will host UL-Lafayette in Thibodaux.
Next weekend, the Colonels will host Beads and Baseball on the Bayou – a weekend tournament, featuring Hofstra, LIU-Brooklyn and Wagner.
SOFTBALL OPENS WITH A BANG
Last year was a magical one for the Nicholls softball team – a 39-win campaign that established the Colonels as one of the top programs in the Southland Conference.
If the first weekend of 2017 is any indication, it’s safe to assume that the Colonels are hungry for more this year – much, much more.
Nicholls started its new season this weekend at the Lion Classic at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. They were joined by several teams around the country who participated in the prestigious event.
After three days and five games, Nicholls finished the weekend with a 4-1 record, including victories over Army, Mississippi Valley State, Southern Illinois and Coppin State.
The lone setback was a 1-0 loss against Nevada on Saturday afternoon.
Nicholls rebounded on Sunday with a mercy-rule, five-inning win against Coppin State.
The Colonels were lights out in the circle throughout the weekend.
Pitching was a bit of a question mark for the Colonels coming into the season after losing Southland Conference Player of the Year Hannah Haydel in the offseason to graduation.
But Nicholls didn’t miss a beat in the opening weekend, using a two-headed monster of Megan Landry and Jackie Johnson to get outs.
Landry started three of Nicholls’ five games, posting just a 0.39 ERA in 18 innings, allowing just one run.
Johnson wasn’t exactly a slouch, either, recording a 1-1 mark with a 0.54 ERA in 13 innings, allowing just five hits, while striking out 13.
At the plate, Nicholls was scrappy. The Colonels batted just .250 as a team, but made the most of its opportunities, getting hit by seven pitches and stealing seven bases.
Samantha Mracich was red-hot on the weekend, going 7-of-15 with 3 RBI. Also strong were Brooke Morris and Kimmie Rodriguez, who combined for nine hits.
With the successful weekend, the Colonels will briefly head home, then they’ll be back on the road.
The team plays a double header today against Jackson State – the first game beginning at 3 p.m. and the second set for 5.
After that, Nicholls will take part in the Black and Gold Invitational this weekend where they’ll face Jacksonville State, Southern Miss (twice) and Mississippi Valley State. •
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