NATCHITOCHES – Two years as a pitching coach served first-year Northwestern State baseball coach Bobby Barbier well Saturday afternoon.
 
After the Demons tallied three runs in the first two innings against Cincinnati, Northwestern State's pitching staff made it stand up in a 3-2 victory against the Bearcats at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
Northwestern State (1-1) used four pitchers, including three relievers who combined for five innings of one-run ball, to make the early offense enough to give Barbier the first victory of his head coaching career.
 
"Our at-bats at the end weren't what they needed to be," Barbier said. "We played much better last night and got beat. It's the nature of the game sometimes. I'm proud of our guys for fighting. I'm proud of our bullpen guys like Devin Bear, Danny Hlad and Cole Langdon finishing it out."
 
The Demons used a pair of early two-out doubles off Cincinnati starter J.T. Perez (0-1) to build a 3-1 lead after two innings.
 
After leaving nine runners on base in a 3-2, 10-inning loss Friday night, the Demons got started early Saturday. Matthew Alford lined a two-run double down the left-field line with two outs in the first inning to stake junior right-hander John Carter Sanner to a 2-0 lead.
 
Sanner pitched effectively for four innings, escaping major trouble thanks to five strikeouts. The Bearcats (1-1) were able to drive Sanner's pitch count to 78 through four innings, forcing Barbier to go to the bullpen.
 
"John Carter didn't have his best stuff today, but he fought through it," Barbier said. "That shows me something. It shows me more about the kid when he doesn't have his best stuff and he fights through it."
 
Cincinnati scored its first run in the second inning on what turned out to be an inning-ending fielder's choice as home plate umpire Jason Mclester ruled Ryan Noda scored before Alford tagged out Joey Thomas at third base for the third out.
 
The Demons answered with another two-out double as Matt Valdez lined his first hit of the season into the right-center field gap to score Tyler Smith, who had drawn a four-pitch walk two batters earlier.
 
After Sanner departed, Dan Hlad made his Demons debut and allowed a two-out RBI triple to A.J. Bumpass in the fifth inning before working out of the jam with NSU's lead intact.
 
When Cincinnati put runners on first and second with one out in the seventh, Barbier turned to left-hander Devin Bear, who tied for the team lead in appearances in 2016 with 21.
 
Playing the percentages paid off as Bear (1-0) needed just nine pitches to fan left-handed hitters Treg Haberkorn and Kyle Mottice to preserve the Demons lead.
 
"Make sure you get your outs," Bear said. "I come in and get the lefties. That's what I did today. (My curveball) probably felt the best it has since last year. It felt really good tonight."
 
Both teams threatened in the eighth but did not score for different reasons.
 
With one out and a runner on first, Cincinnati's Manny Rodriguez hit a line drive to right field that was misplayed for a three-base error. Connor McVey tried to score from first on the play, but Spencer Goodwin delivered a perfect relay throw from shallow right field to cut down McVey.
 
Two pitches later, Langdon induced an inning-ending groundout to shortstop again preserving NSU's one-run advantage.
 
"That was amazing for my confidence," said Langdon, who struck out four in two hitless innings to earn his first save. "I had faith in our outfield to get the ball back in, and Spencer, who's my roommate, made a great throw. I was ready to go after that."
 
It appeared the Langdon was going to have more breathing room after the seventh inning as Goodwin led off with a single and advanced to third when Cincinnati pitcher Tanner Schimmoeller threw wildly on Tyler Smith's sacrifice bunt.
 
Schimmoeller rebounded, getting a groundout, a strikeout and a fly ball to escape unscathed.
 
In the ninth inning, Langdon flashed his mid-90s fastball and worked around a one-out walk by striking out the side to preserve Barbier's first win at his alma mater.
 
"(Pitching coach Chris Bertrand) said, 'I trust in you and get it done for us,'" Langdon said. "He trusts in me. I trust in him. It's amazing (to close out Barbier's first win). It's the best feeling in the world, and I loved every minute of it."
 
The series concludes at 11 a.m. Sunday with senior right-hander Evan Tidwell (5-3, 2.97 in 2016) set to start for Northwestern State. Cincinnati has not announced a starter for the series finale.  Cincinnati            010 010 000 – 2 5 1
NSU       210 000 00x – 3 5 2
W – Devin Bear (1-0). L – J.T. Perez (0-1). S – Cole Langdon (1). 2B – UC, Ryan Noda; Joey Thomas. NSU, Matt Valdez; David Fry; Regan Kaufman; Matthew Alford. 3B – UC, Kyle Mottice; A.J. Bumpass.
Records: UC 1-1; NSU 1-1.