HOUSTON – The Northwestern State softball team delivered when the moments mattered most Thursday.
Northwestern (11-13, 2-0) scored six two-out runs in a 7-1 win in Game 1 then leaned on a clutch relief appearance from Mattison Buster to finish off an 11-6 victory and a Southland Conference-opening doubleheader sweep of HCU (3-18, 0-2).
Five of the 11 runs in the nightcap came with two gone in the inning.
The Demons and Huskies close their three-game series today at noon on ESPN+.
It’s the first time since 2022 that NSU won the first two games of league play. The Demons have won six of their last seven overall.
“Getting two wins to open conference play is just another step in the right direction for our team,” head coach Jenny Fuller said. “We’re continuing to grow and it was good to see us compete and execute when it mattered the most.”
The Demons scored in six of the seven innings of the first game, setting the tone for the doubleheader with the way in which they got their first two runs of the game – pressuring the defense with the running game.
While Northwestern pecked away in the first game, it got another dominating pitching performance from junior Mattison Buster.
Buster twirled her seventh complete game of the season and her third in the past three starts. She allowed just one run, after tossing five scoreless to start the game, scattering four hits across her 7.0 innings with four strikeouts.
After putting up a single run in the opener, the Demons pushed across three in the top of the first of Game 2, the fifth straight game NSU has taken the lead in the first inning.
Building their second seven-run lead of the day, the Demons survived an HCU comeback bid within 7-5. Buster came on in relief and quieted the Huskies, and Northwestern plated four seventh-inning runs to cushion the lead.
TENNIS: The ominous weekend weather outlook forecasting rainy weather in the area has resulted in postponement of home matches for the Northwestern Lady Demons scheduled Saturday (New Orleans) and Monday (Nicholls). Instead, NSU will host the same opponents next weekend. The Lady Demons, one of three defending co-champions in the SLC, made a big statement Monday at Corpus Christi with a 4-3 win over the Islanders to go to 2-0 in the league.