SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Freshman pitcher Adam Oller and the Northwestern State baseball team look to keep place in the Southland Conference standings with a three-game series against Incarnate Word that starts at 6:30 on Friday at Sullivan Field.
 
Oller (5-0, 2.03 earned run average) will start the first game of the series for the Demons (25-20, 13-8 SLC).  The second game of the set is slated for 3 o'clock on Saturday, and series finale is set for Sunday at 1 o'clock.  UIW is 14-27 on the season, and 5-10 in league play.
 
NSU is in a three-way tie for third place in the league standings, and two games behind Nicholls for first place. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is in second place, and Sam Houston State and McNeese are tied with Northwestern State.
 
"(The Cardinals) are new to the league, and they are trying to make the adjustment," said Demon head coach Lane Burroughs.  "I know one thing, they play tough.
 
"It's another long road trip, but our guys have shown throughout the year that they can handle that," he said.  "We're excited about the opportunity to go play them."
 
Oller has made six consecutive starts that opened a league series, and during that span NSU is 5-1 and he is 3-0 on the mound.  In that time, he has a 1.79 ERA, averages 7.1 innings per outing and averages almost five strikeouts per game.
 
Adam's older brother Josh Oller (2-1, 3.07) will start Saturday's game, and freshman left-hander Austin Tanner will take the mound in Sunday's game.
 
Caleb Dugas leads NSU with a .307 batting average and 32 runs scored.  Chase Daughdrill has a .303 average, and leads NSU with 35 runs batted in.
 
"We are coming down the stretch.  This is where the toughest survive," said Burroughs. "This is where people start separating themselves. Everybody is banged up, and we're no exception. It is survival of the fittest right now in college baseball."
 
Right-hander Geno Encina (5-6, 2.66) will be UIW's starter on Friday, and left-hander Dylan Boss (2-4, 4.53) is expected to take the mound on Saturday.
 
Jesse Hoover leads UIW in batting average (.321) and runs batted in (32). Slade Brown has a .303 average, and Mark Whitehead has 32 runs scored.
 
NSU will not play a mid-week game after Incarnate Word, and will host New Orleans for a three-game series that starts on May 9 at Brown-Stroud Field.