It took the Northwestern State baseball team 22 innings of its series against Lamar until a Demon pitcher threw a pitch with a lead.
Once the Northwestern offense gave Trent Hillen an advantage, the junior right-hander did not let go.
Hillen allowed one unearned run in six-plus strong innings and the Demons scored in their final four at-bats to grab a 7-3 victory at Brown-Stroud Field and secure their fourth straight Southland Conference series win at home.
Friday night, Clay Jung’s RBI double in the 10th inning gave NSU a 2-1 triumph, after the Cardinals took Thursday night’s series opener 8-2.
“We talked at Houston Christian last week about holding momentum,” second-year Northwestern coach Chris Bertrand said. “When you look at Friday’s and Saturday’s ball games, the idea we were able to create momentum and then hold momentum is the story of how those two days played out. We feel convicted in the fact we have a talented baseball team. We feel convicted in the fact our guys know how to execute great baseball. Sometimes the idea that we have to create momentum and hold it is paramount for the results we are looking for.”
Hillen (6-1) built on the momentum of Friday night’s walk-off, 10th-inning win, holding Lamar (32-10, 13-8) scoreless through four innings. A junior from Morgan City, Hillen needed just 15 pitches to navigate the first two innings.
He had some help in the second as shortstop Samuel Stephenson turned a 6-3 double play on a sinking line drive to erase a leadoff single. It was the first of two double plays turned by the Demons (24-17, 15-9), who entered the weekend 22nd nationally in that category.
With Hillen cruising, the Demon offense broke through in the third inning, taking advantage of a pair of hit by pitches and a run-scoring wild pitch.
Balin Valentine delivered the biggest swing of the inning, an RBI double to straightaway center field – one of his two hits on the day.
Hillen continued to roll, giving the Demons back-to-back six-inning starts from himself and Tyler Bryan. Those two combined to allow two unearned runs in 12 innings in the final two games of the series.
Hillen pounded the strike zone relentlessly, throwing 52 of his 76 pitches for strikes while scattering seven hits.
“I started the game saying, ‘I’m just going to throw it down the middle, and whatever happens, happens,’” Hillen said. “Obviously, their bloop hits didn’t affect us. Great team, but getting early runs helps us a lot. It got me comfortable and back into the game.”
While the Demons won their fourth straight home Southland series, it marked the first time this season for Northwestern to rally back for a series win after dropping the opening game.
