THIBODAUX, La. (WGNO) — In year two under head coach Mike Silva, Nicholls has its sights set on a Southland Conference title, a trophy that has long eluded the Colonels baseball program.
Since 2012, the Colonels have endured six losing seasons but showed signs of a program turning the corner with a 26-25 finish under Silva in his first year as the head man in charge.
“We’re a David in a world full of Goliaths on the athletic spectrum but that’s not an excuse,” Coach Silva told WGNO Sports. “That’s just motivation and we can go out and still win baseball games against the best.”
46 games into the 2022-23 season, Nicholls is 27-18 with a 12-6 record in conference play. A mark that is the best in the Southland.
Nicholls has won four of their six conference series this season with a win over top-ranked LSU in April. They’ve done it behind an offense that is second-best in conference play, and a pitching staff currently ranked third in the Southland that features the top pitcher in freshman, Jacob Mayers.
The Colonels last won a Southland Conference tournament title in 1998 and have never won a regular season title.
They have six games left on the schedule, including a three-game series at home this weekend against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi and a three-game series in New Orleans against the UNO Privateers.
With every passing victory, a conference championship seems possible for a Colonels team that continues to trend upward while the regular season winds down.
“These guys are going to show up and compete,” said Silva. “Life is not a storybook, right? So, I don’t know what these ned couple of weekends are going to entail. I know it’s going to be a lot of fun. I know our players are going to be ready to play, but we’re playing really good teams down the stretch.
“So, the way I look at it, these are positions you want to be in the next three weekends, right? This weekend, next weekend, and then right into the tournament,” he continued. “You know, we’re playing for championships and that was the goal when we got here and we’re going to continue to put the program in this position. We don’t envision that changing. So, we have to get comfortable and go and play our game.”
Nicholls’ series opener against the Islanders is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday in Thibodaux, La.
