Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NATCHITOCHES – Hits and runs might have come in bursts for the Northwestern State softball team Saturday, but the Lady Demons produced solid outings in the circle in a sweep of Murray State at Lady Demon Diamond.
 
Junior pitcher Shelby Sells twirled her first shutout of the season in a 5-0 win after NSU broke through with four sixth-inning runs to take the opener 6-2 in a Micaela Bouvier victory.
 
Sells (2-3) scattered five hits and two walks while striking out five Racers to push NSU's (10-4) winning streak to three games before Sunday's noon finale with Murray State (4-4).
 
"The first inning or two, I wasn't feeling myself. I was thinking a little too big, but I just relaxed," Sells said. "I came out, threw a lot of curve balls to batters who were crowding the plate.
 
"I had to make sure to keep them chasing and not give them anything close to the middle. I threw a couple of changeups so they knew I had it, and they went for strikes, which was huge. They were chasing my curve ball some, and I was able to jam them up with a screw ball."
 
Sells lowered her season-ERA to 3.50 after getting out of several jams. In the second inning, Sells ended a bases-loaded threat with an Erica Howard ground out -- three of eight Racers left on base in the second game.
Between the two games, 10 different NSU players recorded one of the Lady Demons' 10 RBIs.
 
Sophomore Micayla Sorosiak doubled in a run, and pinch runner Kayla Roquemore scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
 
After a Kaytie Proctor sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, two NSU fifth-inning runs pushed the lead to 5-0.
Junior Jordan Rains doubled in a run before scoring on a fielder's choice in which she beat the tag at home plate.
 
Rains moved up to the No. 2 spot from the bottom of the lineup in the past week.
 
"We did a really good job of manufacturing runs today and knowing that we had to move base runners whenever we got them because we weren't getting as many hits as we are used to," said Rains, a transfer from Houston. "We put the runners in place when we needed them and got them in."
 
In the first game, Murray State swiped a 2-0 lead in the second inning before Bouvier and the defense controlled the Racers.
 
The Racers scored an unearned run in the first inning before Jessica Twaddle (3-for-7 combined) plated a second-inning run.
 
Bouvier allowed just three more base runners (one hit) in the final four innings as she allowed one earned run and struck out five.
 
"I don't think we played our best game today, but we got good pitching," Pickett said. "They kept them at bay, and we were able to manufacturing some runs by getting bunts down, moving runners and hitting sacrifice flies," Pickett said. "That was good to see us score in different ways.
 
"When you get good pitching, you don't have to score a lot of them. Murray State did a great job, made plays all day long and gave us a run for our money. But we were able to adjust and keep coming at them. It's always good to get wins when you don't play all that great."
 
NSU scratched out a run in both the third and fourth innings before a four-run explosion gave the Lady Demons the edge.
 
Hailee Rhodes and Natalie Landry drove in runs with infield singles before NSU's big inning.
 
Junior Kellye Kincannon doubled in pinch runner Sarah Huey before sliding in safely on a Brittney Jones' bunt for a 4-2 lead.
 
Two pinch-hitters earned the other two RBIs. Junior Michaela Johnson drew a bases-loaded walk before freshman Kaylee Isenburg singled to right field for the final run.
 
With the wins, Pickett passed the 200 career-win mark as a head coach – all in his eight seasons at NSU.
 
Pickett is already the second-winningest coach in NSU softball history (201-187) and is chasing program leader Rickey McCalister (245-199-2 from 1987-1994).