NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State softball team makes its Southland Conference home debut with a three-game series with Texas A&M – Corpus Christi on Saturday, with the doubleheader beginning at two o'clock at the Lady Demon Diamond.
 
Meeting for the 21^st time overall and the sixth time in Natchitoches, the Islanders (6-17 overall, 1-2 SLC) lead the all-time series 11-9 over the Lady Demons (10-10, 2-1). NSU took the series and the sweep last season, outscoring the Islanders 19-3 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
 
The Lady Demons kicked off the conference season on March 8 at Houston Baptist, taking two games from the Huskies on Saturday in complete shutouts, then fell on Sunday 9-8 in a six-run fifth-inning comeback to tie the game and a walk-off homer from Melissa Herman in the seventh for the win.
 
The Islanders split a pair of games with Texas State Tuesday afternoon, and dropped their first Southland series 2-1 to Central Arkansas over the weekend.
 
Junior designated player Cassandra Barefield leads NSU from the plate with a .393 average, including seven homers, in a team-high 22 hits and 19 RBI. Leadoff Tara McKenney registers a .318 average and 21 hits to sit just behind Barefield.
 
From the circle, freshman Shelby Sells (2-3) has thrown 48 complete innings, striking out 47 and giving up 41 hits and 28 runs, 19 of them earned.
 
For the Islanders, Valerie Perez posts a team-high .357 average with 25 hits, including five doubles and three homers, and 14 RBI. Jamie Jackson files just behind at .348 with 23 hits and 18 RBI. Pitcher Liz Carter (6-7) holds a 4.91 ERA in 87.0 innings, giving up 108 hits and 69 runs, 61 of them earned.
 
Northwestern State hits the road for a non-conference contest at Texas A&M on Tuesday at 6:00 before heading to Nacogdoches, Texas, for a league match-up with Stephen F. Austin starting on March 22.