COLLEGE STATION, Texas – For the second time in a week, the Northwestern State baseball team will be facing a top five opponent when it visits No. 5 Texas A&M for a two-game series beginning at 6:35 on Tuesday and following up with a 3:05 start on Wednesday.
 
The Demons (2-4) are coming off a series loss to Southern over the weekend but before that, dropped two games at fourth-ranked Arkansas last Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
Texas A&M (6-1), who is coached by former Demon assistant coach Rob Childress, is ranked fifth in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll and sixth in the Baseball America rankings.  The Aggies are coming off a series win over Holy Cross, winning 3-2 on Friday and 8-2 on Sunday and falling 7-3 on Saturday.
 
“Obviously our main focus is to get some important guys healthy,” said head coach J.P. Davis.  “Bottom line, if we just go out and take care of our business, you can overcome injuries, overcome things that happen because that's part of it.”
 
The Demons lost start shortstop Matt Burns prior to Friday's game against Southern after he rolled his ankle in pregame batting practice and then took a blow when starting second baseman Ray Frias injured his shoulder in the second inning of Friday's game after he made a diving effort for a ground ball.
 
And on Saturday, relief starting third baseman Josh Gardiner took a ricocheted ball off the bat into the face and had to leave with facial injuries.
 
Offensively, the Demons will go into the game hitting .243 as a unit.  Shortstop Nick Hinojos tops the squad with a .440 batting average followed by right fielder Jordan Buckley at .353, designated hitter Shaun Hoover at .333 and center fielder Drew Helenihi at .318.
 
Colin Bear, who DHs when not pitching, is batting .375 in three games swinging the bat.
 
Right-handed sophomore pitcher Jacob Roark is expected to start Tuesday's game while sophomore RHP Andrew Adams will start on Wednesday.  Roark is 1-0 on the season with a 5.40 ERA and has appeared in two games.  He'll be making his first start of the season.  Adams will make his second start of the year and is 0-1 with four innings pitched and four strikeouts after he made his first start last Tuesday at Arkansas.
 
Texas A&M is hitting .274 as a team and is led by right fielder Tyler Naquin's .522 batting average.  The junior right fielder from Spring, Texas earned All-America honors last season for the Aggies and is one of the top prospects in college baseball this season.
 
The two teams last met in 2010 when NSU posted a 4-2 win over the 21^st-ranked Aggies.
 
Next up, the Demons will return home for a three-game weekend series against Missouri State, beginning Friday at 6:30 at Brown-Stroud Field.