NATCHITOCHES – Lane Burroughs asked for toughness from his Northwestern State baseball team Saturday afternoon.
 
It took six innings, but the Demons offense answered the bell.
 
Spencer Goodwin's two-out, two-run, bases-loaded single capped a three-run NSU rally and gave the Demons a 4-2 series-clinching victory at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
"We always say championships are won on Sunday, and you can say Saturday or whatever, but today is about toughness," the fourth-year head coach said. "I thought they outplayed us (Saturday) in all areas, and I challenged our guys. They came out and showed a lot of character and toughness. We're in the middle of a storm right now. We're not playing well right now, but good teams find a way to win games and series when they're not playing their best, and that's what we did today."
 
Stephen F. Austin starter Patrick Ledet, the grandson of Northwestern State N Club Hall of Famer Walter Ledet, stifled the Demons for the first five innings before the Demons (12-11, 5-4) put together a five-hit, three-run sixth inning.
 
Goodwin dumped a single to right-center field on an 0-1 offering from Ledet (2-1), snapping a 2-all tie and putting Northwestern State ahead to stay as it secured its second conference series win of the season.
 
"I swung at a curveball in the dirt and (Burroughs) called me over there and calmed me down," Goodwin said. "He told me, 'Just get something over the plate and hit it back up the middle.' It was a fastball in, and I hit it up the middle."
 
The Demons needed all three of those runs to snuff out a game group of Lumberjacks (12-13, 2-7), who entered the weekend second in the Southland Conference in batting average.
 
Evan Tidwell (3-2) grinded out a quality start of 6 1-3 innings, scattering four hits and shaking off a career-high four walks to earn the victory. Freshman right-hander Nathan Jones tossed 2 2-3 innings of scoreless baseball to earn his third save.
 
Jones relieved Tidwell with runners on first and second and one out in the seventh and uncorked a wild pitch on his first delivery.
 
He escaped the jam thanks to an 8-2 double play, as Nick Heath unleashed his first outfield assist of the season, cutting down Zac Michener at the plate.
 
"I figured something was going to happen," said Heath, who fielded the fly ball in shallow center before throwing home.  "They were down two late in the game, and someone's got to score a run to get them back in the game. I was a little surprised, but I was ready for it.
 
"Kelsey (Richard) did a great job blocking the plate. They've been working on it before games and in practice, and it finally came into play."
 
Before putting together its five-hit, game-changing inning, the Demons had managed four hits off Ledet in the first five innings.
 
Starting with David Fry's one-out single in the sixth, the Demons strung together four straight hits. After the string was broken, Goodwin delivered what turned out to be the game-winning hit.
 
SFA loaded the bases in the eighth against Jones, who induced a fly ball to Heath to end that inning. In the ninth, a one-out hit by pitch brought the tying run to the plate before Jones got Matthew Dickey to hit into SFA's third double play of the game.
 
Northwestern State now has turned 32 double plays, which ranks second in the nation.
 
"We take pride in our double plays," said Goodwin, who made the turn on Dickey's game-ending double play. "We work on them all the time. Coach Burroughs does a great job with the infield, and we got three today."
 
The Demons return to action Tuesday when they host ULM at 6 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field. NSU and the Warhawks play a home-and-home series with the return game set for 6 p.m. Wednesday in Monroe. 
 SFA    011 000 000 - 2 6 0
NSU    010 003 00x - 4 9 0
W - Evan Tidwell (3-2). L - Patrick Ledet (2-1). S - Nathan Jones (3). 2B -- SFA, Zac Michener. NSU, Nick Heath, Cort Brinson. Highlights: SFA, Conner Fikes 2-4. NSU, Heath 2-3, 2B, 2 SBs; Brinson 2-3; Matthew Alford 2-4, RBI; Spencer Goodwin 2 RBIs.
Records: Stephen F. Austin 12-13, 2-7; Northwestern State 12-11, 5-4.