Box Score HUNTSVILLE, Texas –  Freshman Adam Oller spun a gem on the mound for the Northwestern State baseball team to hold down preseason Southland Conference favorite Sam Houston in a 12-1 Demon win Friday night after a two hour rain delay at Don Sanders Stadium.  
 
Oller pitched eight scoreless innings for the Demons (13-11, 5-2 Southland Conference) and allowed a solo homerun to Ryan Farney with one out in the ninth inning. He finished off the complete game with two fly outs. 
 
"Adam was tremendous tonight.  For a freshman to do that against last year's champion and a quality club was outstanding," said second year head coach Lane Burroughs. "I wish he could've gotten the shutout, but he didn't and that is the way it goes sometimes. He's a competitor.  I am very proud of him and the job he did."
 
He faced the minimum number of batters in an inning three times and held the Bearkats (18-9, 3-4 SLC) to no extra-base hits until the seventh inning.  It's only the second time this season SHSU was held to one run.
 
"He had command on both sides of the plate, and had his breaking ball working," said Burroughs.  "He had it all going tonight."
 
The Demons used a huge ninth-run ninth inning to get Oller a cushion. The first run of the inning was on a single to center field from Bret Underwood that scored Daughdrill, who led off the inning with a double to left field.  Daughdrill took third base on a wild pitch.
 
Two more scored on a liner from Joel Atkinson that hit the top of the Shea Pierce's glove at second base and rolled into right field.  Underwoood scored from third base and Regan Kaufman, who reached on a wild pitch strikeout, scored from second base.  
 
Nick Heath, Atkinson, and Brinson all scored on either a bases-loaded hit by pitch or walk.  Heath finished the inning with a two-run double to left field that scored Daughdrill and Underwood.  NSU went through 14 batters in the inning.
 
"We needed those runs," said Burroughs. "The biggest hit was Joel's when we loaded the bases trying to put the game away and he lines one over the second baseman's head. Our guys kept getting after them."
 
The Demons scored the game's first run in the opening frame on a sacrifice fly to right field from Caleb Dugas that scored Edwin Gomez.  Gomez reached on a single that rolled between the Bearkat shortstop and third baseman.  He advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Joel Atkinson and got to third base on a wild pitch during Dugas' at-bat.
 
NSU added two more runs in the fourth inning, the first on an error from SHSU starter Tyler Eppler on attempt to pick off Cort Brinson at first base with Dugas at third.  Dugas scored when Eppler overthrew his first baseman.  Brinson took second base on the error and scored on a single up the middle by Chase Daughdrill.
 
The Demons left six batters on base, two in scoring position, in the game.  They came away with nine hits, the only extra-base hits were by Daughdrill and Heath in the ninth inning.
 
Underwood had three hits in five at-bats with two runs scored and knocked in.  Daughdrill was 2-of-4 with two runs scored and knocked in. Gomez, Brinson, Nathan Lyons and Heath all added hits in the effort. The Demons drew six walks and had two hit by pitches.
 
"The main thing I'm proud of our guy's is the way they handled the rain delay," said Burroughs. "We talk about dominating the elements all the time, and they handled it tonight.
 
"That's a good club we're facing, and they are going to come out with their hair on fire tomorrow," he said.  "We need to come out and continue to do what we've been doing."
 
The second game of the series will be at 4:00 on Saturday, and the final contest of the set will be at 1 o'clock on Sunday.  Patrick Netherton will have the call for both games on 100.7 KZBL-FM in Natchitoches and streamed for free online at NSUDemons.com.?