Colonels unveil 2015 schedule

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After winning 32 games last season and finishing as the runner-up in the Southland Conference, there’s no mistaking that the Nicholls State University baseball team is hungry to break the ice and reach the NCAA Tournament.


To do so, the Colonels will have to survive one of its toughest schedules in recent years.

Nicholls baseball coach Seth Thibodeaux announced the team’s 2015 schedule this week, a challenging slate that will pit the Colonels against some of the premier programs in America.

Nicholls will play four of its first five games against teams that have been to Omaha in the past few seasons (Stony Brook and LSU). They will also host a Pac 12 school for a four-game series and will play a home-and-home with 2014 power UL-Lafayette.


“Our schedule is very challenging and will prepare us for the Southland Conference, no question,” Thibodeaux said. “We have some great matchups, both on the home and on the road. … Our team is really hungry for this, and we are excited about the challenge.”

Thibodeaux will find out exactly where his team stands in the first week of the season.

The Colonels will open 2015 with a three-game home slate with Stony Brook – the always-gritty Northeastern-based program that reached the 2012 College World Series after pasting LSU in the Baton Rouge Super Regional.


The Seawolves haven’t been back to the NCAA Tournament since their magical run, but they are trending upward again and seem poised to make a run this season.

They had just a 25-34 record in 2013, but rebounded to be 35-18 last year, including a 18-5 mark in American East Conference play.

With many returnees from that team back for another year, Thibodeaux said he knows that opening weekend will be a challenge.


Stony Brook played in Nicholls’ annual tournament during its dominant 2012 season, sweeping both the Colonels and Alabama State in a four-game weekend.

“They are one of the best, most talented programs in the entire Northeast,” Thibodeaux said. “They have a fine program.”

After taking on the Seawolves, Nicholls will test its craft against LSU – one of the favorites to win the 2015 College World Series.


The Colonels and Tigers will lock horns on Feb. 18 at Alex Box Stadium – Nicholls first road test of the year.

Two days after facing LSU, the Colonels will bus to Pensacola for a three-day, four-team weekend round robin tournament featuring North Florida, Southern Miss and Troy.

“(The tournament) is in a Double-A ballpark in a regional-type atmosphere,” Thibodeaux said.


After the Pensacola tournament, Nicholls will host Pac-12 foe Utah for four games from Feb. 27-March 1.

The team will also face in-state rivals Tulane (March 3 and April 7), UL-Lafayette (March 25 and April 28) and UL-Monroe (March 11 and April 8) in its non-conference slate.

The Colonels open Southland play on March 6 with a three-game road series against Abilene Christian.


In the 10-series conference slate, the Colonels will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Southeastern Louisiana, Incarnate Word, Houston Baptist and UNO. They will travel to face Abilene Christian, Sam Houston, Central Arkansas, McNeese and Northwestern.

The Southland Conference Tournament is scheduled from May 20-23 in Sugarland, Texas.

NICHOLLS READY FOR THE CHALLENGE


The schedule is tough – no doubt.

But Thibodeaux believes his team can hold its own against anyone in the country.

Last season, Nicholls boasted one of the best pitching staffs in America, recording a conference-best 2.59 ERA as a team with seven shutouts.


One of the biggest reasons for that dominant ERA was Nicholls’ defense. The Colonels ranked No. 1 nationally in double plays turned, and the team’s defense throughout both the infield and outfield saved runs throughout the year.

After going through fall practices, Thibodeaux said he has a good feeling about the Colonels’ chances this spring. The coach said Nicholls will again be a gritty bunch capable of winning games both on the mound and at the plate.

“You always get a good idea about who you are after the fall,” Thibodeaux said. “You learn who can handle adversity, who can bounce back and who will be ready for when the games start to count. I like our club. We were a really good pitching club last year, but I think we have a chance to be just as good, if not better.”


The coach also talked about his team’s offense, touting that he fully expects the Colonels to score more runs this year than the 269 (4.6 per game) they did a year ago. Some of that will be because of the new, lower-seamed baseballs the NCAA has adopted within the sport – a rule change geared toward increasing the amount of offense in the game.

But the coach said he also thinks the team will field a lineup loaded with hitters capable of making consistent solid contact.

That recipe, combined with the experience the Colonels gained last year as the Southland runner-up has Thibodeaux thinking that this might be the year for his team if all of the cards fall in the right places.


“We think that what we learned last year playing for a championship in the final weekend of the season will help us immensely,” Thibodeaux said. “I think that experience has been great for our club. Our players are hungry. They’ve had a great offseason. They’ve busted their butts in the weight room and have done everything imaginable to make sure that they year they are in a position to get back to that point and get beyond it. We’re excited for the year. We’re ready to get started.”

Nicholls baseballLISA NEAL | LISA NEAL PHOTOGRAPHY