HAMMOND – Style points don't matter much to Lane Burroughs or his Northwestern State baseball team.
In his third year as the NSU skipper, Burroughs has designed a team that cares much more about the end result than making it look good.
"It's not always pretty, but we grind out wins an at-bats and pitches," Burroughs said. "If we keep doing that, we'll be OK."
The Demons (16-11, 8-3 Southland Conference) take that grind-it-out mentality on the road Thursday when they open a three-game series against conference-leading Southeastern Louisiana (22-8, 9-3) at 6 p.m. at Pat Kennelly Diamond at Alumni Field. Friday's game also will start at 6 p.m. with Saturday's getaway day game beginning at 2 p.m.
SLU leads the Demons by a half game, as Northwestern State's series finale against Stephen F. Austin on March 22 was cancelled by rain and field conditions.
The series, which runs a day earlier than most because of Easter, matches strength on strength, as the Lions bring the conference's top hitting team (.304) to face the Demons' fourth-ranked pitching staff (3.37 ERA).
"(Head coach) Matt (Riser) did a great job recruiting when he was an assistant there," Burroughs said. "They're absolutely rolling. They won our tournament and went to a regional last year, and they've picked up where they left off. They kind of had our number last year, but they've got a new team and we've got a new team. It's a new year. I don't think I'll have to get the boys up too much. They'll be motivated."
The Demons' three weekend starters – Adam Oller, Josh Oller and Jeffrey Stovall – have combined for 12 quality starts (at least six innings pitched, three or fewer earned runs allowed).
Despite the slightly different schedule, Burroughs and pitching coach Bobby Barbier opted to keep the starting rotation the same, as it has been each weekend in which NSU was scheduled to play three games.
"It's a shortened week for everybody, and it will be a challenge," Burroughs said. "It's tough for guys who throw a lot of pitches to come back on short rest, but we're ready to go to Hammond."
In their last weekend series, the Demons unearthed a couple of multi-inning relievers who could strengthen the NSU staff as a whole.
Seniors Hunter Duvic and Brandon Smith combined to throw 6 1-3 innings of scoreless relief in a 12-inning, series-clinching win against McNeese State on Sunday. Duvic's outing was the second-longest of the season by a Demons reliever, trailing Chase Hymel's 4 1-3 scoreless innings against Sacred Heart on Feb. 28.
Smith, meanwhile, had a win and two saves in the last week. His seven career saves have Smith tied for ninth all-time in school history.
All three games will be broadcast on the Demon Sports Network, flagshipped by 100.7 KZBL in Natchitoches. Free audio of the games is available at NSUDemons.com Tony Taglavore will handle the play-by-play call of the game.
The Demons will conclude their five-game road trip next week with a pair of games away from Brown-Stroud Field. NSU will face Southland Conference foe Sam Houston State on Tuesday before heading to state rival LSU on Wednesday.
Series probable pitchers
Thursday: NSU RHP Adam Oller (4-1, 2.09) vs. SLU RHP Tate Scioneaux (5-1, 4.28)
Friday: NSU RHP Josh Oller (5-0, 4.15) vs. SLU RHP Jake Johnson (5-0, 1.86)
Saturday: NSU RHP Jeffrey Stovall (3-2, 4.13) vs. SLU LHP Kyle Cedotal (3-2, 1.74)
