SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Historic flooding washed away any sense of normalcy for the Northwestern State this past week.

But the Lady Demons attempt to get back into the swing of things when they open Southland Conference play at Incarnate Word this weekend. NSU (15-5) is scheduled to start Saturday's doubleheader at noon and Sunday's finale at noon.

After severe rain and thunderstorms prevented NSU from practicing, attending class and departing on time for the UIW series, coach Donald Pickett hopes a return to softball will mean a return to his team's normal routine.

"We had kids in apartments that couldn't get out because the water was so high," Pickett said.  "We haven't had a team practice this week, but we tried to get some kids to come in and take some swings.

"We haven't been able to do a lot of things with the weather, but hopefully we'll get to play and adjust to the things we need to adjust to. Supposedly the weather will be great Saturday and Sunday in San Antonio."

The Lady Demons started the season 15-5 with wins against Oklahoma State, Texas State, Mississippi State and Chattanooga among others. The start is tied for third best in program history and second best under Pickett (18-3 in 2013).

"Coming into the season, we wanted to get off to a really good start," said Pickett, whose teams haven't historically started quickly. "We've had some lapses, but we have gotten off to that good start.

"(Conference play) is a different animal now. It's go time. We've got to use the things we've learned over the first 20 games and put ourselves in a position to compete."

NSU is the reigning SLC regular season champions after a 22-3 conference record, not losing a series all season. That record is the second-best in NSU history behind a 23-3 mark in 1998 under coach Gay McNutt.

The Lady Demons fell in the SLC Tournament finals after winning tournament titles in 2013 and 2014 and making two NCAA Tournament appearances.

That record included a three-game sweep of UIW (6-12) in 2015, but Pickett said winning that finale in extra innings and UIW's year of experience in the league means his Lady Demons will face a tough test on the road.

"UIW's confidence is growing, and they've had some good wins this season," Pickett said. "They took a game from us at our place (in 2014), and we had to beat them in extra innings in the 2015 finale.

"This is our longest trip of the year in conference play, and the biggest challenge is being in the right frame of mind. We have to put this week behind us and know that our job is to play NSU softball."

The Cardinals are coming off a 4-3 win against Houston and have also beaten UTEP this season. UIW is 2-2 against the Southwestern Athletic Conference with two wins against Alcorn State and losses to Mississippi Valley State and Texas Southern.

Despite the loss of sophomore Mikayla Brown (Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year) to a knee injury, NSU still ranks among the nation's best in the circle.

The staff ERA of 2.32 ranks No. 33 in the country. Junior pitcher Shelby Sells (5-3) is 12^th with three shutouts this season, including one against Mississippi State, who was receiving votes at that time.

Sophomore pitcher Micaela Bouvier (8-3) ranks No. 24 in total victories.

NSU has manufactured more runs this season with sacrifice bunts and fly balls, but the Lady Demons can still hit for power.

NSU has hit 18 home runs in 20 games, and the 0.90 home runs per game ranks No. 51 in the nation. Junior Kellye Kincannon and Bouvier each have a team-high four home runs.