Northwestern State out hit and outscored visiting Stephen F. Austin over the final five innings of Sunday’s Southland Conference softball series finale. Two swings in the first two innings, however, made all the difference in SFA’s 10-6 win to sweep the series.
A one-out grand slam in the top of the first from Lilly Bean and three-run home run in the top of the second from Hope Lusk provided enough cushion for the ‘Jacks (20-19, 9-6) to hold off a relentless Demon offense that matched sprayed 11 hits, six of them doubles, across the park in the game.
The Demons (4-34, 1-14) hit three of their six doubles in the game in the bottom of the seventh to put up a three spot in the frame. It was the first time NSU hit more than five doubles in a conference game since hitting eight in a 15-2 rout of Lamar in 2021.
In Friday’s doubleheader series opener, Northwestern got two win-worthy pitching performances from Brooklynn Stohler and Kaymie Chandler. Unfortunately, the Demons didn’t deliver timely hits and that led to a pair of two-run losses, 3-1 and 4-2.
Stohler threw her conference-leading eighth complete game of the season in the series opener allowing just four hits and three runs, only one of them earned. She induced 17 fly ball outs in the game and retired the final 10 batters she faced in a row from the end of the fourth inning through the rest of the game.
Chandler surrendered just three hits through the first five innings of game two and put up six consecutive scoreless frames as the Demons clung to a 1-0 lead. She finished with 6 1/3 innings of shutout work, matching a season-best with just one walk.
TRACK AND FIELD: Eleven Northwestern State athletes won their events, as they fought through the elements to have strong performances Saturday at the Pelican Relays in Baton Rouge on the campus of Southern.
Seth Smith (men’s discus), Samari Finney (women’s long jump), Justin Craft (men’s shot put), Shanice Hutson (women’s shot put), Maxwell Gautreau (men’s pole vault), Kalli Knott (women’s pole vault), Raven-Symone Jarrett (women’s 100-meter hurdles), Elijah Rowe (men’s 100-meters), Korbin Shumate (men’s 1500-meters) and both 4×100 relays took home the top spot in those events.
“Overall, it was a very, very good day,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “We got a good meet in or at least a lot of good work and we were supposed to go to Monroe. We had some good field events and some adverse conditions. It was very, very windy, so the kids had to adjust with that and their approaches with how they did different things and how they ran.”
Saturday brings the program’s only home competition, the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex.
TENNIS AT LSUS: After a two-week hiatus, the Lady Demons return to action today, traveling to face LSU-Shreveport in a 2 p.m. non-conference match.
The Lady Demons (6-6, 6-0 and first in the Southland Conference) are coming off a commanding 6-1 victory at Lamar on March 24.
“We are excited to get out there and compete,” head coach Marcos Morelli said. “It’s important for the players to rest and take care of their body, now it’s time to finish the season off strong.”
The Lady Demons return home to finish their last home matches of the season. McNeese visits on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Senior Day is April 14 at 11 a.m. against Southeastern at the Jack Fisher Tennis Complex. They have a makeup match at second-place Stephen F. Austin to finish their bid to win the conference title.
