NATCHITOCHES – No Northwestern State opponent has been more prevalent through the first month of the season than Mother Nature.
 
For the seventh time in eight home games, the Demons have dealt with a delay or a time change. Awaiting the Demons on the other side of another rain-affected game is longtime rival Louisiana Tech.
 
The Demons (9-7) and Bulldogs (7-6) meet Wednesday at Brown-Stroud Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
 
Both teams bring recent runs of success into the game, as Northwestern State has won eight of its last 10 games and Louisiana Tech has won four of its last five.
 
Wednesday's game will indoctrinate one of third-year head coach Lane Burroughs' longtime friends into the rivalry.
 
"I've known (first-year Louisiana Tech coach) Greg (Goff) for a long time, going back to the Gulf South Conference, Delta State and Mississippi College days," Burroughs said. "He's a good friend. He's a great coach."
 
Goff and Burroughs share not only a friendship, but also they inherited similar situations when they arrived at their current positions. A season ago, Louisiana Tech went 15-35 in Wade Simoneaux's final season as Bulldogs coach.
 
"He did it at Campbell," Burroughs said of Goff, who took the Camels to the 2014 NCAA Regionals.
 
"He took over a team nobody had really knew about and took them to a regional. I respect him, and he's going to do a great job. There are a lot of similarities, absolutely."
 
The Bulldogs are the second straight midweek opponent to enter Brown-Stroud Field off a weekend series victory against a Southland Conference opponent. Louisiana Tech took both game of a rain-shortened series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Ruston.
 
One week ago, ULM came to Natchitoches off a three-game sweep of Sam Houston State.
 
The Demons will start the same pitcher that shut out ULM, sophomore right-hander Evan Tidwell (1-2, 3.98). Tidwell's two-hit shutout earned him both the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week awards.
 
Louisiana Tech will counter with right-hander Laetten Galbraith (1-2, 1.74).  
 
 
The Demons will remain at home for their first Southland Conference home series of the season when they host defending league champion Sam Houston State from Friday-Sunday. First pitch Friday night is set for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) are afternoon affairs.