TUCSON, Ariz. – After three offensive-minded games in the Arizona Wildcat Invitational, Northwestern State's baseball team ran into a thoroughly West Coast style game Sunday night.
 
And in a game where hits and runs were at a premium, host Arizona took advantage of eight Demons walks to slip past Northwestern State 4-1 at Hi Corbett Field, denying the Demons a sweep of their four games at the event.
 
Northwestern State (6-5) had its three-game winning streak snapped and saw its run of three straight double-digit hit performances end at the hands of Nathan Bannister (2-0) and two relievers.
 
Bannister scattered three hits across 6 2-3 innings, striking out five as the Wildcats (8-4) earned a split with Northwestern State, which won Friday's meeting between the teams, 6-4.
 
"We faced a really good guy tonight," fourth-year head coach Lane Burroughs said. "He shut out Cal State Fullerton for eight innings on Wednesday. We had some good swings off him."
 
The Demons  weren't able to re-create the comeback magic from earlier Sunday in which they rallied from a pair of five-run deficits to defeat CSU Bakersfield, 9-7.
 
Against Arizona, Northwestern State cobbled together just four hits and scored its lone run in the eighth inning on Daniel Garner's RBI groundout, which finished the tournament 3-1.  
 
Arizona did not fare much better offensively against Chase Hymel (1-2) and a trio of Demons relievers. The Wildcats used a two-run, two-out double by Louis Boyd in the second inning to snap a scoreless tie.
 
With Bannister keeping the Demons quiet, the Wildcats used a small-ball approach typically seen on the West Coast to pad their lead in the fifth inning.
 
A leadoff single and a hit batter put runners on first and second for the Wildcats, who used a groundout to first to move the runners up a base. Zach Gibbons dropped a safety squeeze bunt down that the Demons could not handle, allowing a third run to score.
 
Later in the inning, Gibbons' delayed steal of second allowed Jared Oliva to score the game's final run. David Fry's return throw home appeared to beat Oliva, who slid around the tag to score.
 
After pounding 14 hits in Sunday's earlier win against CSU Bakersfield, NSU did not have an extra-base hit and only Bret Underwood (2-for-3) finished with a multi-hit game for the Demons.
 
"Our pitchers competed their tails off, and we had some calls that didn't go our way," Burroughs said. "I couldn't be prouder of our guys, flying across the country and coming out and playing well. From where we were last week to where we are this week, we're a much better club. If we keep getting that much better, we'll be OK."
 
Arizona managed just five hits, two from Ryan Aguilar.
 
The Demons return to action Tuesday when they travel to College Station, Texas, to face No. 2 Texas A&M in a two-game midweek series. First pitch Tuesday is set for 6 p.m. at Blue Bell Park.
 NSU       000 000 010 – 1 4 2
Arizona 020 020 00x – 4 5 1
W – Nathan Bannister (2-0). L – Chase Hymel (1-2). S – Bobby Dalbec (3). 2B – Arizona, Louis Boyd. Highlights: NSU, Bret Underwood 2-3. Arizona, Ryan Aguilar 2-4.
Records: Northwestern State 6-5; Arizona 8-4.