HAMMOND - After sweeping a home-and-home series with Jackson State to extend its winning streak to five games, the Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team (28-17, 15-9 Southland Conference) returns to SLC action looking to stay hot at the expense of the Nicholls State Colonels (18-25, 8-16 SLC).

The Lions and Colonels open the series at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field in Hammond on Friday night before heading to Ray E. Didier Field in Thibodaux on Saturday.  The two rivals will return to Hammond for the finale of the three-game set on Sunday.

Southeastern will look to continue a streak of strong play that has seen the Lions string together five straight wins and jump 28 places in the latest NCAA RPI listings.  After starting the week of April 20 ranked 72nd, the Lions rode a three-game sweep of SLC rival Sam Houston State to 44th in the latest rankings.

A surging lineup has keyed Southeastern's recent success.  The Lions have pounded out ten or more hits in eight of their last nine contests, going 6-3 over that stretch.  Southeastern has seen its team batting average rise to .311, the fourth-best mark in the conference.

Southeastern is led by senior left fielder Brandon Street, who leads the Lions in all three triple crown categories with a .347 batting average, six homers and 46 RBI.

However, the Lions are not looking past the Colonels, who proved to be a dangerous club by knocking off then-No. 1 ranked LSU in Baton Rouge by a score of 3-1 back on April 15.

An, at-times, dominant pitching staff has been the strength of the Colonels on the year.  The Nicholls State pitching staff enters the weekend with a staff ERA of 4.69, the third-best mark in the Southland Conference.
 

First pitch of the series opener between the Lions and Colonels is set for 6:00 p.m. at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field in Hammond.

Live stats and streaming audio play-by-play will be available online at www.LionSports.net, and the game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM.