The Colonels’ softball team attempts to make a surge as the end of the season draws near and a conference tournament bid hangs in the balance. With the Colonels in fourth place in conference at the moment, a tournament appearance is not for certain. Nicholls’ softball head coach Jenny Parsons said that, unlike past seasons when it came down to the last game of the season to make the tournament, this year the Colonels can control where they finish.

“We control our own destiny,” Parsons said. “We’re in fourth place at the moment. We need to finish strong by taking care of home-field advantage against Stephen F. Austin, who is the best team in the conference in my opinion. Hopefully our destiny is controlled by that weekend, and we won’t have to worry about winning one or two games at Sam Houston State to get into the tournament. “

The Colonels will face Stephen F. Austin Saturday with large implications on the line. If the Colonels are unable to post any wins, then it will come down to the last series of the season to see if the Colonels will make the tournament.

“I’m proud of how they worked together as a team,” Parsons said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but for the most part they’ve really stuck together. I see more passion in their eyes now at the end of the year than in the beginning of the year. In years passed, you can’t say that all the time. “

Parsons said the Colonels need to be more consistent in scoring runs, be focused and solid on defense and continue to be strong on the mound to be effective in the postseason.

“We’re in fourth place, and if you look at the schedule and some of the games that we’ve dropped, we could be higher,” Parsons said. “We have played solid softball. The best part is that they have taken what we’ve worked on in practice and put it in the game. They believe in themselves, and we feel like we can compete with anybody.”

The Colonels will look to control their own destiny, as the series with Stephen F. Austin starts on Saturday.