HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University baseball team opens its final Southland Conference series of the regular season on Thursday when the Lions travel to Natchitoches to face rival Northwestern State at Brown-Stroud Field.

First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. The series resumes on Friday at 6:30 p.m. before concluding Saturday at 2. All three games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.

Southeastern (34-19, 17-13 SLC) sits one game behind Stephen F. Austin for second place in the league standings and is tied with Sam Houston State for third. The Lions enter the weekend with an RPI ranking of No. 44 according to Boyd's World and look to secure their first berth in the NCAA Regionals since 1994.

Five regulars in the Southeastern lineup are hitting above .300, led by Jonathan Pace with a .361 average. Brock Hebert (.340-2-31), Justin Boudreaux (.338-8-47), Jeff Harkensee (.316-10-53) and Cass Hargis (.314-0-27) are Southeastern's top hitters followed by Cody Gougler (.292-3-27), Josh Cryer (.275-2-40) and Michael Rutland (.259-0-2).

Southeastern will send Tyler Watkins (9-3, 3.26 ERA) to the mound in Thursday's opener with senior Brandon Efferson (8-3, 3.48 ERA) slated to pitch on Friday. Saturday's starter is to be announced.

Northwestern State (21-31, 10-20 SLC) will enter the series riding a two-game winning streak after Tuesday's come-from-behind 7-5 win over Louisiana-Monroe. The Demons, who were the No. 2 seed in last year's Southland Conference Tournament, were eliminated from postseason contention last weekend but look to build momentum for the 2012 campaign.

Colin Bear leads the Demons at the plate with a .335 average, five home runs and 40 RBI. Nick Hinojos (.306-3-28), Will Watson (.306-0-17) and Drew Helenihi (.301-0-16) are next in hitting for Northwestern State, which is hitting .268 as a team.

Luke Irvine (6-6, 3.89 ERA) will earn the start in Thursday's game for Northwestern State with Bear (2-4, 3.63 ERA) slated to pitch on Friday. Saturday's starter is to be announced.

Tickets for the 2011 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, that begins Wednesday at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas, are available by calling the Texas State Ticket Office at (512) 245-2272 or on-line at www.TxStateBobcats.com/tickets.

All-Tournament passes, beginning at $45 for general admission seating, are available with reserved seats at $50. Single-game tickets are available beginning at $12 for general admission and youth and $15 for reserved.

The winner of the eight-team tournament will receive the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Baseball Championships.