March 7, 2008

THIBODAUX, La. - After playing two nationally ranked teams this week, the Colonels will get back to conference play when they host Central Arkansas this weekend in the Colonel Softball Complex. The series will begin on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at Noon.

The Colonels (7-14, 2-4) played at No. 18 Louisiana-Lafayette on Tuesday and hosted No. 12 LSU on Wednesday. The Cajuns took both games of the doubleheader while LSU won 3-0 in the lone game.

Central Arkansas (2-14, 0-3) enters the contest with Nicholls having lost seven consecutive games including two mid-week losses at Memphis on Wednesday. Southeastern La. (15-4, 5-1) swept the Bears in their opening conference series.

In last season's series, Nicholls swept Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark. where they out scored the Bears 33-6 between the three games. Senior Krystalin Ensminger notched her fifth and sixth wins of 2007 in the circle as she won both the first and second contests of day one's doubleheader. Ensminger and junior Danielle Clayton picked up SLC player of the week honors for their strong play in the series.

Leading the Colonels at the plate this season is senior Kat Harrell with a league-leading .492 batting average and a .754 slugging percentage. Harrell recorded her 200th career hit in the Colonels' 3-0 loss to LSU, making her only the third player in Nicholls' softball history to reach the 200 milestone.

The Bears only have two players batting over .300 entering this weekend's series with Mandy Haney leading the way with a .333 average.

All three games can be followed live statistically on the internet at www.geauxcolonels.com by clicking on the GameTracker link. Saturday's games will start at Noon and 2 p.m. while Sunday's contest will start at Noon.

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