WACO, Texas – If nothing else, the Northwestern State baseball team is patient.
 
After four days of will they play or won't they play discussions and three cancellations, the Demons return to the diamond for the first time in five days Wednesday when they face No. 25 Baylor at 4 p.m. in Baylor Ballpark.
 
Since the Demons (2-5) defeated Creighton in the second game of a doubleheader at Brown-Stroud Field on Feb. 20, they have seen Mother Nature wreak havoc on their schedule. The final game of the Creighton series was postponed Saturday and canceled Sunday.
 
The first game of what was supposed to be a two-game series at Baylor also fell victim to the weather, leaving the Demons and Bears to play a single game.
 
"I thought Friday night against Creighton, we played our best baseball so far this year," third-year head coach Lane Burroughs said. "That's the tough part. You feel like you're playing good, putting it together, and then you don't play for a while.
 
"We can't complain. There's people in the Midwest and the North who can't get outside. We've been able to get outside and do some things. We're excited about getting back on the field against a quality Baylor team and seeing what we're made of there."
 
The Bears (5-2) are ranked No. 25 in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll and continue a theme for the Demons' early-season schedule – quality opponents.
 
Through their first seven games, the Demons have built what is ranked as the nation's 23^rd-toughest schedule by playing Troy, 2014 NCAA Super Regional participant UL Lafayette and defending Big East champion Creighton.
 
Baylor marks the first nationally ranked opponent and the first of four "Power Five" conference foes for Northwestern State this season.
 
"I saw where our strength of schedule is No. 23 and our RPI is No. 68," Burroughs said. "That's pretty good. If we can win some of those games, it can get real. Baylor's got a good club. They didn't have a great year last year, but coach Johnny (Steve Johnigan) and coach (Steve) Smith do a tremendous job. They've been there a while. I respect them and their program, and they've gotten off to a really good start."
 
The Bears opened the season by sweeping then-No. 13 Cal Poly in a three-game series and followed that up by winning a series against Kent State. Today's game wraps up a season-opening, eight-game homestand for the Big 12 member Bears, who mark the third straight Demons opponent that has appeared in a College World Series.
 
The Demons are expected to throw sophomore right-hander Evan Tidwell (0-1, 7.11 ERA), while the Bears counter with right-hander Nick Lewis (1-0, 10.80).
 
Northwestern State returns home this weekend to face Sacred Heart in a three-game series at Brown-Stroud Field, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Friday. The rest of the series features a 2 p.m. Saturday matchup and a 1 p.m. Sunday start.
 
NOTE: Brown-Stroud Field will host a second series this weekend, as Central Arkansas and Missouri State have moved their series from Springfield, Mo., to Natchitoches.