Northwestern State used a combination of patience and big hits to complete its first Southland Conference softball sweep since 2022 on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Demons (17-18 overall, 7-5 in the SLC) took advantage of 17 free passes (11 walks and six HBP) to put up their most runs in a game in three years for a 15-2 run-rule win against East Texas A&M (6-31, 1-11).
Friday, Northwestern dominated both ends of a doubleheader, 12-7 and 12-2. As part of a 4-for-4 performance in the first game, Peyton Young hit two home runs, drove in six runs, scored four times and finished a single shy of the cycle.
“We’re excited to get a sweep for the first time since we’ve been here and really proud of the offense today,” head coach Jenny Fuller said. “We’ve been struggling in those third games this year to score runs. They came out ready to roll and put on a show today.”
For the third time on the weekend and the 17th time this season, the Demons scored in the first inning to take an early edge, 2-0, on a double steal scoring JT Smith and Brynn Daniel’s RBI single.
The steals gave the Demons 60 stolen bases on the year, the most by a team in the past 20 years.
A six-run second featured a three-run Makynline Jones double, her ninth two-bagger of the season.
The Demons picked up two more runs in the third on a Mckenna Rinewalt RBI single and RBI groundout from Daniel. The Lions’ two runs came in the next half inning on back-to-back solo home runs, but the Demons broke things open in the bottom of the fourth to put the game away.
Aly Delafield and DJ Lynch hit back-to-back, one-out doubles for the first of the seven runs scored in the inning. Back-to-back hit batters again loaded the bases for Jones to draw the second of three bases-loaded walks for the Demons in the game.
Daniel clubbed a no-doubt grand slam to left, her first long ball of the season, pushing the lead to 14-2 in favor of NSU.
“Honestly in that at-bat I just said to myself ‘go have fun’,” Daniel said. “We had already scored a couple, so I went up there to have fun, not trying to hit a home run and just hit the ball hard. I had a pretty good weekend and seeing the ball well, so I saw my pitch and swung and I knew it was gone.”
The Demons scored six runs with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth of game three and 18 total runs with the bags full across the three-game series. All four hits with the bases loaded this weekend went for extra bases and drove in at least three runs.
Mattison Buster benefited from the offensive outpouring to earn her 14th win of the season, and 12th complete game of the season, both conference bests. The 14 wins tie her with Micaela Bouvier for the most by a Demon pitcher since 2018.
The Demons host Louisiana Tech Tuesday evening at 6, then play a Southland series Friday and Saturday at Stephen F. Austin.
