CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – There is a message Northwestern State third baseman Rocco Gump gives pitcher Trent Hillen before every inning.
“Every time I get on the mound, Rocco looks at me and says, ‘We’ve got you, and you’ve got us,’” Hillen said.
Gump made that comment nine times Sunday afternoon in the series finale of a three-game Southland Conference series as Hillen spun a complete-game, four-hit shutout of homestanding Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in an 8-0 series-clinching victory for the Demons (11-8, 5-4), who won for the fifth time in six games.
NSU pitchers Dylan Marionneaux and Carter White combined for a shutout in the series opener Friday night, a 5-0 Demon victory. The Islanders prevailed Saturday 5-2.
In spinning Northwestern’s first solo complete-game shutout in more than two years, Hillen struck out five and threw 70 of his 100 pitches for strikes.
Hillen (3-1) capped his second straight win with a final-pitch called third strike.
“In the bullpen, (my stuff) was kind of iffy,” Hillen said. “I felt like I was off after the first inning. I figured it out, got downhill and let my defense work. I didn’t feel I had my best stuff until later in the game. I just let my defense work and show out.”
Hillen retired seven straight and 10 of 11 batters from the fourth inning forward.
NSU’s Clay Jung’s second-inning home run stood as the lone tally until the Demons broke the game open against Corpus Christi (8-13, 1-5). Four Islanders relievers combined to walk seven Demons in four innings as Northwestern scored seven runs in its final four at-bats, including three straight two-run innings from the sixth through the eighth.
Hillen’s four-hitter was NSU’s first complete-game shutout since Cal Carver blanked Alabama A&M on March 10, 2023. It is Northwestern’s first complete-game shutout of a Southland Conference opponent since Nathan Jones did so at Stephen F. Austin on April 27, 2019.
The Demons continue their seven-game road trip Tuesday, visiting Grambling at 6 p.m., then go to play UNO next weekend in a three-game conference series.
SOFTBALL: Powerful McNeese swept visiting Northwestern in a three-game SLC series, although the Demons were extremely competitive in the first two games. The Cowgirls prevailed 6-4, 4-1 and 14-1 over the nation’s youngest team. NSU hosts Southeastern in a three-game series beginning Friday.
TRACK: The Lady Demons’ Southland Conference Indoor Championship women’s track and field team picked up some honors as voted by SLC coaches. Senior sprinter Maygan Shaw was named Southland Indoor Female Athlete of the Year, junior sprinter/hurdler Dynia Lewis won Co-Newcomer of the Year honors, and for the third consecutive year, Mike Heimerman was chosen SLC Indoor Coach of the Year. The outdoor season begins next Saturday at LSU.