Nicholls needs new players to step up in 2015

Nicholls baseball coach Seth Thibodeaux rolls ground balls while his team works on defense during a recent practice.

Chemistry was a critical component in Nicholls State University's success during the 2014 baseball season.

With five seniors in the everyday lineup and three seniors anchoring the pitching staff, the Colonels achieved several milestones with a 32-26 overall record and a 21-9 mark in the Southland Conference.

That success led to a runner-up finish in the conference and head coach Seth Thibodeaux getting named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year.

But the momentum generated in the regular season came to a halt in the postseason as the No. 2-seeded Colonels were bounced from the conference tournament with an 0-2 record.

While the Colonels are replacing a lot of experience from 2014, Thibodeaux said he believes the talent he's assembled through recruiting will overcome what was lost, but success will only come if the new-look Colonels find the right chemistry on the field.

Nicholls begins to build chemistry in its season opener against Stony Brook at 2 p.m. Friday at Ray E. Didier Field.

Thibodeaux said several players will be in new roles this season, but having experience returning behind the plate and in the outfield should be a calming influence as growing pains are expected early on.

"The good thing about it is we have two returning catchers in (Christian) Correa and (Alex) Tucker and our starting outfield has a ton of experience. The strength of our team, athletically, will be behind the plate and in the outfield. Everyone else will be new, but Seth Stevens returns and so does Marc Frazier, who both were designated hitters and played first base," Thibodeaux said. "David Zorn is back and he can play first base or the outfield, but it's a new team. We are a little more hungry and anxious because we were so close last year. The biggest thing we have to replace is the chemistry those (seniors) had. When they were on the field, they knew what to do and they knew what I was thinking before I could even say it."

The experience behind the plate could help Nicholls repeat its success on the mound as the Colonels were the Southland Conference's top pitching staff in 2014. The Colonels had a conference-best 2.60 ERA and thanks to their bullpen, produced an astonishing 26-1 record when leading after six innings.

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Nicholls needs new players to step up in 2015