NATCHITOCHES – Riding a three-game winning streak, the Northwestern State softball team will play four home contests over the weekend as part of the NSU Lady Demon Invitational at the Lady Demon Diamond Complex.

 

NSU (5-12) will take on UL-Monroe (8-6) at 11 a.m. on Saturday to kick it off, and later play in a 1:30 p.m. matchup against Southern (3-7). The Lady Demons will play again on Sunday at 10 a.m. against the Warhawks, and at 3 p.m. in the final game against the Jaguars.

 

The Lady Demons have let up just four runs during their hot streak. Cali Burke, Cheyenne DeLaGarza and Brianna Rodriguez all recorded a hit in each game and will look to lengthen their hitting streaks over the weekend.

 

In their most recent victory in the second game of a doubleheader against Houston Baptist, Cassandra Barefield blasted the decisive two-run homer in 3-1 win. She tallied three hits in the game, marking her fifth multi-hit game of the season. Barefield currently leads the team with a .349 batting average and .431 on-base percentage.

 

Superior pitching has aided the Lady Demons, as Brooke Boening and Kelee Grimes enter the weekend on a roll. Boening tossed five innings of scoreless relief to defeat HBU in the first game 4-3, while Grimes fired a complete game, one-run bid to win the night cap.

 

The duo has combined for a whopping 82 strikeouts in 61.2 innings on the season. As a staff, NSU leads the Southland Conference with a 7.11 strikeout per game average, and Grimes leads all individuals with a 10.09 strikeout per game average.

 

The Lady Demons have also been stingy on defense, ranking first in the SLC in fielding percentage with a .975 mark. NSU has committed just 11 errors on the season in 17 games. 

 

ULM is coming off a 3-1 weekend at the Charleston Tournament. It defeated Virginia Tech, Charleston and Wagner, and fell to Lipscomb. Southern comes in having won its last two games, defeating Southeastern La. 12-4 and LSU-Alexandria 2-0.

 

The NSU Lady Demon Invitational features six games in a double round robin format. The Warhawks and the Jaguars will play on Saturday at 4 and Sunday at 12:30.