TROY, Alabama – Given numerous chances to take advantage of free bases and free base runners, the Northwestern State baseball team could not convert in Sunday’s series finale at No. 24 Troy and were swept in the three-game series with the Trojans.
The homestanding Trojans, however, had no such issues.
Troy repeatedly capitalized on Demon walks and turned them into a 14-4 run-rule victory at Riddle-Pace Field Sunday. It followed a 14-12 slugfest Saturday and Friday evening’s 7-1 Troy win.
“(Sunday’s game) is not one we’re proud of,” second-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. “I didn’t think we competed in a way that showed a willingness to change. We have talked about the things that are ailing us and the things that are in our way that are going to make us a better team. Today, we did not compete with an intent to act upon and fix those things.”
The Demons (2-4) fell behind early as Troy (6-1) strung together a two-out rally against Northwestern starter Trent Hillen (1-1) in the first inning that culminated with Dillon Kuehl’s two-out RBI single. An inning later, Sean Darnell’s three-run home run gave the Trojans a 4-0 lead.
“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board as an entire team and make a concerted effort to fix the things that have been a thorn in our side,” Bertrand said. “If we don’t, they are going to keep us from being the best version of ourselves. Today, we were not the best version of Demon baseball. That falls on me to a certain degree, but we are going to have to go back and work on our weaknesses, which are anchoring us down.”
The Demons return to action Tuesday when they host Southern-New Orleans in their first midweek game of the season. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field. They host Alcorn State Wednesday and begin Southland Conference play at Southeastern next weekend.
SOFTBALL: At Arlington, Texas, the nation’s youngest Division I softball team was winless in four games Saturday and Sunday but battled the tournament host team to the last out in the final game, a 2-1 UTA victory Sunday afternoon.
Freshman pitcher Brooklynn Stohler gave Northwestern a chance to beat the Mavericks. After allowing two runs on two hits in the first inning, Stohler locked down the hot UTA bats, limiting them to just one hit with five straight scoreless innings to finish the game. She retired the final seven batters in a row and did not allow a hit after the second inning.
Yale topped NSU 5-2 earlier Sunday. Saturday, North Texas dumped the Demons 10-2 before UTA rallied for a 7-3 victory over Northwestern (1-13).
The Demons host ULM Wednesday evening at 6:30, then play in a tournament hosted by Mississippi State next weekend.
TRACK & FIELD: While no school records were broken, several Northwestern State athletes collected personal bests at the LSU Twilight on Friday at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse in the Demons’ final meet prior to the Southland Conference Indoor Championships March 2-3.
TENNIS: After a 4-0 loss Friday at Louisiana Tech, Northwestern’s Sunday match at LSUS Shreveport was postponed by rain. The Lady Demons begin Southland Conference play with an away match against New Orleans on Friday, followed by another away match against Nicholls next Sunday.
Their next home match is on March 8, when they play conference newcomer UTRGV at the Jack Fisher Lady Demon Complex.