Northwestern State’s softball team carries momentum and scorching hot bats into its final midweek contest of the season today at 6 when Louisiana Tech visits the Demon Diamond.
The Demons (17-18) had their best offensive weekend of the season in a three-game Southland Conference sweep of East Texas A&M. They scored more than 10 runs in three straight games for the first time since 2008 and outscored the Lions 39-11 and hit .438 as a team.
The 39 runs scored was the second most across any three-game stretch for NSU since scoring 40 in three games in 1983. The three straight games with 10 or more runs scored tied a school record for the longest streak of such game.
“You wish you could bottle up a weekend like that and use it every time, but more than anything for us it’s about staying consistent,” head coach Jenny Fuller said. “The approach we had at the plate this weekend is what we’ve been working toward, and I was really proud of the way everybody stayed locked in what we wanted to do the whole time. Now it’s about bringing that same focus into Tuesday.”
NSU looks to parlay that offensive confidence into a redemptive midweek performance against the Bulldogs (19-16) who won the first meeting between the two teams this year in run-rule fashion in mid-February.
The game can be seen on ESPN+ or heard locally in Natchitoches on 100.7 FM KZBL. Fans are encouraged to wear orange to the game for the “Demons on Fire” presented by BOM Bank.
While there were contributions throughout the lineup, the Demons had four players drive in more than five runs in the series and four players hit better than .500.
Sister Arnold, Brynn Daniel and Peyton Young had the biggest weekends at the plate going a combined 15-for-21 (.714) with four home runs and 20 RBI. Young finished a single shy of the cycle with two home runs, the first two of her career, in the opener. Daniel drove in runs in all three games including a game-breaking grand slam on Saturday. Arnold hit a home run, had five RBI with an .800 batting average and .900 on-base percentage for the weekend.
The Demons raised their team batting average by 14 points and, behind five home runs, nearly matching their season total entering the series, and 16 total extra-base hits, saw their team slugging go from .351 to .391 over the course of three games.
NSU traveled to Ruston just over a month ago, where the Bulldogs got a 12-3 run-rule win in five innings, riding a six-run first to victory.
“We’ve grown a lot since the last time we saw them and I think we’re a much different and better team,” Fuller said. “Our players have a better understanding of who we are now and what it takes to win against tough opponents, so it’s a good opportunity to go out and show that and how we’ve progressed since then.”
The Bulldogs enter this game after winning two of three against Missouri State in a home conference series.
