HOUSTON – After sweeping Incarnate Word to open Southland Conference play last weekend, Northwestern State softball hits the road for the first time in league action this season, traveling to Houston Baptist for a three-game slate beginning Friday.

Friday's doubleheader is set for 3 p.m. at Husky Field with Saturday's series finale slated for a noon first pitch.

"We're going to have to keep the consistency that we had against Incarnate Word," seventh-year head coach Donald Pickett said. "We played pretty clean those three games and hopefully we can go down to Houston Baptist and get the pitching we got and play clean defense. If we do those things, I think we put ourselves in a good situation."

NSU (12-12, 3-0 SLC) enters the weekend as the Southland leader in RBIs (126) and is second in both runs scored (132) and hits (182). The Lady Demons rank 23^rd nationally in doubles per game (1.75), 26^th in home runs per game (1.25) and 27^th in slugging percentage (.522).

Houston Baptist (6-13, 0-3 SLC) is looking to end its five-game skid, including dropping its last three on conference-opening weekend at Lamar. The Huskies rank eighth in league batting average (.282), 10^th in earned run average (6.45) and 12^th in fielding percentage (.939).

Despite the team rankings, five HBU players boast averages of .300 or higher, led by Cecilia Bauer's .375. In the circle, righty Laci Belovsky leads the way with a 4-5 record and 4.67 ERA in 14 appearances, including seven starts.

"They are real consistent and have a lot of fight," Pickett said of the Huskies. "They have a couple of really good hitters. They move runners and try to put pressure on your defense. You've got make plays and be clean."

Nine Lady Demons who hail from the greater Houston area make their homecoming this weekend. Cassandra Barefield (Houston), Micaela Bouvier (Santa Fe), Sarah Huey (Tomball), Kellye Kincannon (Lake Jackson), Kaylee Parker (Liberty), Hailee Rhodes (Spring), Bri Rivera (Pearland), Sidney Salmans (The Woodlands) and Micayla Sorosiak (Sugar Land) all call the area home.

Last weekend, the Lady Demons outscored the Cardinals, 28-3 in five games, led by sophomore Brittney Jones' 7-for-10 performance, including three home runs, one of which was the eighth-inning walk-off winner in the finale.

In the circle, a trio of righties, Micaela Bouvier, Baylee Gray and Mikayla Brown, tossed 23 1-3 innings, allowing 17 hits and three earned runs while striking out 22 UIW hitters.

Several Lady Demons secured career-highs in the series including Brown's six strikeouts in the finale. Additionally, freshman Kaytie Proctor belted her first collegiate home run.

Another key piece to NSU's success, Brittany Virgoe, has reached safely in a season-long 10 straight games. The senior ranks second on the squad with five multi-RBI games and second in the conference with 22 runs scored.

Friday's opening game matchup marks the ninth overall meeting between NSU and Houston Baptist. The Lady Demons own a 7-1 advantage in the series that began in 2012. In 2014, NSU shut out HBU, 3-0 and 4-0 in the Saturday doubleheader before falling 9-8 in the Sunday finale.

"We talked about continuing to be aggressive and be confident," Pickett said. "Hopefully we can start fast and finish strong. We've talked to the girls about that over the last couple weeks and hopefully we continue to build on what we've started."

Northwestern State returns home Wednesday to face Louisiana Tech. First pitch is scheduled for six o'clock at the Lady Demon Diamond.