MONROE -- Mustering hits and placing base runners in scoring position weren't issues for Northwestern State against UL Monroe on Wednesday.
 
But the Lady Demons couldn't drive those runners in as NSU fell 5-3 to ULM in a midweek contest.
 
NSU (5-5-1) stranded eight of its 11 runners in scoring position as the Lady Demons doubled ULM in hits 8-4.
 
The Warhawks (8-4) cashed in on pitching and defensive miscues to score five combined runs in the second and third innings.
 
ULM's second-inning run came from Vanessa Garcia on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead. Garcia was hit by starter Micaela Bouvier's pitch and advanced on a passed ball and single before scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Bouvier, who made her second start and threw her two scheduled innings after an offseason shoulder injury, allowed the one unearned run in the outing.
 
NSU responded with an Adele Vincent RBI triple that scored Sidney Salmans in the third inning to tie the score 1-1.
 
But pitching problems bit again in the bottom half as ULM scored four runs to grab a 5-1 edge.
 
Reliever Katelyn Boles (2-2) walked three batters to lead off the inning before giving up an RBI single to Garcia.
 
With the bases still loaded, reliever Mikayla Brown surrendered a double to pitching counterpart Melanie Coyne that drove in three runs.
 
All four runs were credited to Boles.
 
Brown settled in after that, pitching four scoreless innings with just two hits. It's the second time Brown has been the primary pitcher against ULM, and eight of her 9 1-3 innings have been scoreless.
 
Coyne (5-2) allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings. At the plate, the senior went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
 
NSU chipped at ULM's lead with two solo home runs -- Emma Hawthorne in the fourth inning and Micayla Sorosiak in the fifth. Both players have two home runs on the season.
 
But the timely hits didn't come with runners on base as NSU batted 3-for-20 with runners on and 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Junior Sidney Salmans (2-for-4) and freshman Elise Vincent (2-for-3) recorded multiple hits in the loss.
 
ULM's Jessie Watts earned her first save in her first appearance by stranding runners on the corners to end the game.
 
NSU will head to Chattanooga's Frost Classic for five games with two of those Friday. The Lady Demons face Fairleigh Dickinson and Chattanooga on Friday.