CONWAY, Ark. – The Northwestern State softball team will play its first of three consecutive road series on Tuesday when it travels to first-place Central Arkansas for a doubleheader starting at 4.

The Lady Demons (12-18, 1-3 SLC) are coming off a tough two-game series against McNeese State. Cali Burke stood out and finished a combined 3-for-4 with two walks and a run scored. Burke, a Preseason All-SLC First-Team selection, leads the team with a .349 batting average and .427 on-base percentage.

Kylie Roos has looked sharp both on the mound and in the batter's box as of late. She has reached base safely in all of the last eight games, including a RBI double against the Cowgirls on Friday. On Saturday, she tossed a complete-game and allowed just two runs while striking out four.

Central Arkansas (24-10, 4-0) is 7-0 at home, and swept Southeastern Louisiana and Sam Houston State to race out to perfect start in conference. Star-hitter Kasey Britt leads the league in batting average (.444), on-base percentage (.500), hits (40), RBI (28), and is second with six homers and a .733 slugging.

The Sugar Bears are just as talented on the mound, as junior Kelsie Strong ranks first in the SLC in wins (13), innings pitched (125.1), strikeouts (137, 7.65 k/g) and complete games (14). UCA's second starter, Cami Newsome, is 9-2 with a 2.36 ERA in 65.1 innings.

“We're going to be on the road for the next six games and we really have to come together as a team. UCA is a very good team, and we have to play as hard as we can play,” said head coach Donald Pickett. “We're looking for consistency at all three phases of the game and need continue building on the things we work on in practice.”

The Lady Demons defeated UCA two out of three games last season on the road and are 8-6 all-time against the Sugar Bears.