Easter weekend road trips for Northwestern’s baseball and softball teams are the long and short of it.
The league-leading Demon baseball team has traveled almost to the Mexican border for a three-game Southland Conference series at UT-Rio Grande Valley. The red-hot Lady Demon softball team is on its shortest road trip in the SLC, less than two hours over to Nacogdoches, Texas, to play Stephen F. Austin.
Both series begin today, earlier than usual due to the Easter holiday and in softball’s case, the chance for rainy weather Saturday.
BASEBALL: The second half of Northwestern’s Southland Conference schedule takes the Demons somewhere the program has never played a conference game.
The Demons will make their Southland debut in Edinburg, Texas at 6:30 p.m. today when they take on UTRGV in the opener of a three-game conference series, which also includes a 6:30 p.m. Friday matchup and a 1 p.m. Saturday series finale.
All three games will air on ESPN+ with free streaming audio available through www.NSUDemons.com and the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices.
The last time Northwestern (18-10, 10-5) played in Edinburg came in 2014 when the Demons took part in the Al Ogletree Classic.
“We are looking forward to the opportunity,” third-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. “We understand the challenges that come with lengthy travel. We’ve been preparing for the environment. We know it’s going to be an incredible environment and will be packed. We’re looking forward to the competition against such an amazing baseball team. We know we’re in for three battles against a quality team.”
The homestanding Vaqueros (14-15, 9-6) have helped turn the UTRGV Baseball Stadium into one of the most intimidating venues in the conference, routinely drawing crowds ranging up to 6,000.
A season ago, UTRGV posted a 20-8 mark at home, including 12-3 in league play as it shared the conference crown in its first Southland season.
Northwestern will stick with the same rotation it has used in the past three series – freshman left-hander Brody Trosclair (4-1, 1.36), junior right-hander Dylan Marionneaux (2-2, 5.01) and senior right-hander Trent Hillen (2-1, 5.31). That trio all will work with one day less rest than in a typical week.
“It’s a talking point that’s worth talking about,” Bertrand said. “You have that as an element, as a circumstance, of your preparation. All the confidence in the world in (pitching coach) Dan (Hlad) and in those guys in getting it done. It needs to be stated that, to this point, our success has been because of how well we have thrown the baseball and how well they have overcome each step of adversity along the way.”
A season ago, the Demons took two of three games from the Vaqueros, who made their first trip as SLC members to Natchitoches. All three games were taught affairs with one run separating the teams during the series.
“You learned exactly what they’re going to roll out – the collection of talent and how very well-coached and well-prepared they will be,” Bertrand said. “They’ve played the 16th-toughest schedule in the country, so you throw all the numbers out the window and look at how battle tested they are. When you mix that with the amount of talent and the supremely talented coaching they have, this is one where we’re going to have be at our best.”
SOFTBALL: When you’re playing as well as the Northwestern softball squad is at the moment, you want to get back on the field as soon as possible.
Due to expected weather Saturday, that is just what the Demons (18-18 overall, 7-5 SLC) will do as the three-game set at Stephen F. Austin (21-16, 5-7) was moved up a day and will now be played today and Friday. The series opens with a 4 p.m. doubleheader today, followed by a single game Friday at 12 p.m.
Neither of today’s games will air on ESPN+, but the opener can be heard on 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches. Friday’s finale is scheduled to stream on ESPN+.
NSU enters the weekend riding one of its strongest stretches of the season, having won four straight games. The Demons went 10-5 during the month of March and won six of their seven home games, climbing back to the .500 mark to match one of their best starts through this point in the past seven seasons.
“We’ve really been gelling more and clicking more as a team over the past month or so,” head coach Jenny Fuller said. “In year two of a rebuild it can be tricky because there are a lot of ups and downs. The key is just managing them and keeping the team headed in the right direction. I think that’s what we’re doing. We’re gelling and finding some stability in our lineup. Pitchers are doing well and hopefully we can carry that into this weekend.”
The recent surge has been fueled by production throughout the lineup. Brynn Daniel (.348), Peyton Young (.328) and JT Smith (.326) are all hitting above .325 on the year, each carrying an on-base percentage north of .400. Smith’s .514 on-base percentage ranks second in the Southland Conference.
In the circle, ace Mattison Buster continues to anchor the staff. The senior picked up her 15th win of the season in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory against Louisiana Tech, her 13th complete game of the year, both conference highs.
After sweeping East Texas A&M and securing a midweek win against Tech, the Demons carry both momentum and confidence into their fifth conference series.
SFA enters the series with momentum of its own, winning four straight games following a sweep of Houston Christian and a run-rule victory at Prairie View A&M on Tuesday.