NATCHITOCHES – Senior outfielder
Natalie Landry will appreciate the friendly faces Wednesday as Northwestern State welcomes Alcorn State to Lady Demon Diamond after succeeding in a tough tournament field at Texas State this past weekend.
Landry and her teammates will particularly enjoy seeing the NSU baseball team cheering them on since it's the only series the Demons will get to see before their own season starts Friday at home.
NSU (4-1) will attempt to continue its home success against the Lady Braves (2-0) in a doubleheader that begins at 4 p.m.
"I'm excited for Wednesday because we have a great fan base," Landry said. "I'm excited to see new and old fans.
"I'm also excited that the baseball team gets to come because it's the only games they'll get to see this season. I can't wait for it."
Landry has helped NSU to an outstanding record of 48-17 (.734) at home in the past three seasons, a record that matches the beauty of a stadium that underwent a major overhaul after the 2012 season.
The Lady Demons aim to continue that success against an Alcorn State program its beat in all eight meetings.
NSU got its season off to a hot start by winning four of five games in Texas State's CenturyLink Classic this past weekend.
The Lady Demons won their first four contests – beating DePaul (5-1 score), Oklahoma State (9-3), Texas State (1-0) and Abilene Christian (4-2) before falling to DePaul in the finale (1-0).
"It's going to be good to get home after this long trip, and it's going to be good to get rested a little bit and work on some things," said NSU coach Don Pickett. "The opening weekend kind of sets the bar of where you're at, and we have a good feel for that now.
"We hope to have a good crowd Wednesday, and we want to have a good outing so everybody can see our team this year."
Offensively, junior outfielder Kincannon (8-of-17, two home runs, seven RBIs) and Landry (6-of-15, three home runs and seven RBIs) led a squad that slugged seven home runs and scored 19 runs in the opening weekend.
That included smashing four home runs in one inning in the opening win against DePaul.
Other offensive highlights included Landry providing the first three RBIs in the Oklahoma State win and Kincannon tallying five RBIs against Oklahoma State before driving in the lone run against Texas State.
Landry also hit a seventh-inning home run to break a 2-2 tie to top Abilene Christian.
NSU was just as good inside the circle.
Mikayla Brown (2-0) and
Micaela Bouvier (2-0) won both of their starts with
Shelby Sells (0-1) picking up a key save against Texas State and having a strong outing in the 1-0 loss to DePaul.
Brown, who injured her knee against Texas State in which Sells earned a four-out save, compiled a 0.55 ERA, including taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning of the 5-1 DePaul win.
Bouvier maneuvered through Oklahoma State's and Abilene Christian's lineup to compile a 2.50 ERA in two wins.
The 4-0 start (before the finale loss) was NSU's best since starting 6-0 in 1991.
Alcorn State swept NCAA Division II Kentucky State 7-0 and 2-1. Sametria Collins (three runs scored, two RBIs) led Alcorn State offensively while pitchers Jazmin Castillo and Ashley Breal combined to allow one earned run with 21 strikeouts.
Fans attending NSU's softball games Wednesday and baseball's opener Friday against Alabama State (6:30 p.m.) can be entered into a drawing for softball or baseball tickets when NSU travels to LSU.
