TROY, Ala. – Looking to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of Troy, Northwestern State turned to its battery on Sunday.
 
In turn, right-hander Jeffrey Stovall and catcher C.J. Webster supplied the power behind the Demons' first victory of the season, a 9-5 victory against Troy at Riddle-Pace Field.
 
Stovall (1-0) tossed seven strong innings in his Northwestern State debut, scattering six hits and striking out four, while Webster tied a career high with four RBIs.
 
"The story of the game was Jeff Stovall," third-year head coach Lane Burroughs said. "He gave us a shot in the arm when our bullpen had been used a lot in the first three games. He was phenomenal, really down in the zone with some quality pitches."
 
The Demons (1-3) struck first with a two-run, two-out, first-inning rally. Caleb Dugas started things by coaxing a walk off Troy starter Tucker Simpson (0-1). Cort Brinson singled Dugas to third before Chase Daughdrill drew a walk.
 
Webster then followed with his third double of the series to score Dugas and Brinson and stake Stovall to an early lead.
 
NSU turned up the offensive pressure in the second. After Joel Atkinson drew a leadoff walk, Nick Heath dropped a sacrifice bunt that Simpson fielded and threw wildly past first base, putting runners on second and third.
 
Two batters later, Bret Underwood laced a two-run triple off the right-field wall to put NSU up 4-0. Underwood later scored on the first of two RBI groundouts by Dugas.
 
Stovall ran into trouble in the third inning when Troy (3-1) struck for three runs.
 
The Demons offense picked up Stovall in the next inning, capitalizing on a pair of hit batters and a pair of Troy errors to score four runs. Webster had the inning's lone hit, a two-run single that scored Dugas and Brinson and made the lead 9-3.
 
"The pressure (Heath) put on them was unbelievable," Burroughs said. "He stole second and third (in the fourth). It was a bang-bang call at third that could have gone either way, but it went our way. We had Underwood hit the triple off the wall, but we manufactured when we had to. We sped them up a little bit."
 
Backed by a strong defensive effort, Stovall settled in and sat down 11 straight batters from the third through sixth innings.
 
A change in the NSU lineup paid immediate dividends, as Matthew Alford made his first start of the season at third base and handled seven chances flawlessly.
 
"He was outstanding," Burroughs said. "He made some plays that were unbelievable, especially on a slow roller."
 
Underwood (2-for-4) and Webster (2-for-5) finished with the only multi-hit games for Northwestern State, while David Hall (2-for-4) and Brody Binder (2-for-3) each notched two hits for the Trojans.
 
NSU was outhit 8-7, but took advantage of four Troy errors to tally five unearned runs and enter the win column for the first time in 2015.
 
"These guys weren't happy we weren't in the win column," Burroughs said. "No one wants to win more than they do. Today, we played looser, and we looked more relaxed than we had in the first three games. We have a tough schedule, but I believe in our club.
 
"I'm proud of how our guys responded after three tough losses. The easy thing to do would have been to fold up the tent. I think we'll look back at the end of the year and realize that was a really big win today."
 
The Demons return to action Wednesday when they host 2014 NCAA Super Regional participant UL Lafayette at Brown-Stroud Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and begins a four-game homestand for the Demons, who welcome Creighton and Arkansas State to Natchitoches for the weekend.NSU  230 400 000 — 9 7 0
Troy  003 00 101 — 5 8 4
W — Jeffrey Stovall (1-0). L — Tucker Simpson (0-1). 2B — NSU, Chase Daughdrill; C.J. Webster; TROY, David Hall. 3B — NSU, Bret Underwood. Highlghts: NSU, Underwood 2-4, 3B, 2 RBIs; Webster 2-5, 2B, 4 RBIs; TROY, Hall 2-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Brody Binder 2-3, RBI. 
Records: Northwestern State 1-3; Troy 3-1.