NATCHITOCHES – Bobby Barbier has felt nerves before walking onto Brown-Stroud Field.
 
So it is no surprise the first-year Northwestern State baseball coach expects there to be some butterflies flittering around in his stomach when his Demons open the 2017 season against Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
The three-game series also includes games at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and at 11 a.m. Sunday.
 
"I was talking with (assistant) coach (Taylor) Dugas the other day, and I told him the most butterflies I ever had was my first time as a graduate assistant," Barbier said. "I haven't had them that bad since. It's the first time you don't affect the game like you do as a player. I'm sure we're all going to have them. We've worked a lot for this season, for this weekend."
 
Barbier became the first Demons baseball alumnus to coach the team since Johnnie Emmons finished a three-season run in 1989.
 
After two seasons as the NSU pitching coach, Barbier takes over a Demons team that posted its third straight 30-win season (33-24) and notched 20 Southland Conference wins for the second straight season.
 
It is a Demons roster that also has to replace its Friday night starter from the past two-and-a-half seasons (Adam Oller) and two other players who were drafted after their redshirt junior seasons (Nick Heath and Daniel Garner).
 
"We need a lot of guys to step up," said senior third baseman Matthew Alford, who shifts over from shortstop. "We lost a lot of good players to the draft and who were seniors. It's important for me and other guys to step up and produce."
 
Despite the losses, the Demons return second-team All-Southland Conference second baseman David Fry, who earned the same honor on the preseason all-conference team earlier this week.
 
Fry has started 102 consecutive games since his freshman season and will be deployed at various positions along the infield this season.
 
"David is a very gifted player," Barbier said. "He can do a lot of things. He has great hands. He can really throw, and he will hit in the middle of the lineup like he has for the past two seasons. It's nice to have a guy with that versatility who you can trust."
 
In his two seasons as pitching coach, Barbier knew who would take the ball to start each series for Northwestern State.
 
With Oller, a Collegiate Baseball and American Baseball Coaches Association All-American in 2016, no longer in the fold, the first Friday night start of the season belongs to sophomore Nathan Jones (2-2, 3.10), who tied for the team lead in appearances (21) out of the bullpen in 2016.
 
Jones will be followed by junior college transfer John Carter Sanner and senior right-hander Evan Tidwell (5-3, 2.97) in the opening weekend rotation.
 
"Nathan's been tremendous for us," Barbier said. "He didn't pitch much in the fall, but he had a really good summer and a really good spring for us. He was one of our go-to guys out of the bullpen. John Carter is a junior college transfer who has been tremendous since he's been here, and we'll keep Evan on Sunday where he had so much success last year."
 
The visiting Bearcats posted a 20-35-1 record a season ago, but Cincinnati will throw a pair of starters who had sub-3.00 ERAs a year ago.
 
Right-hander Andrew Zellner (7-4, 2.32) starts Friday with left-hander J.T. Perez (6-5, 2.97) scheduled to throw Saturday. Cincinnati has not announced a starter for Sunday's game.
 
"It seems like they've played for this year," Barbier said. "They had some young guys who played a lot the last two years. They showed a lot of improvement last year. It will be a really good test for us. We have a really good opponent, a quality opponent, to open the season on our home field in Natchitoches."
 
There are numerous promotions surrounding Friday night's opener and the subsequent two games, including chances to win a pair of tickets to a Texas Rangers game of the winner's choice. There will be a giveaway of 125 Northwestern State baseball beanies for students at Friday night's game as well.
 
Friday also marks the opening of the Northwestern State Baseball Cooking Club, which will be housed just outside the first-base dugout.
 
Streaming video and audio from Friday's game is available at www.NSUDemons.com. 

Pitching matchups (2016 stats)
Friday: Cincinnati RHP Andrew Zellner (7-4, 2.32) at Northwestern State RHP Nathan Jones (2-2, 3.10)
Saturday: Cincinnati LHP J.T. Perez (6-5, 2.97) at Northwestern State RHP John Carter Sanner (Jr.-Transfer)
Sunday: Cincinnati TBA at Northwestern State RHP Evan Tidwell (5-3, 2.97)