NATCHITOCHES – Just in time for the Northwestern State baseball team to arrive home, Southland Conference play begins this weekend.
 
After a five-game road trip to Big 12 members Kansas and Kansas State, the Demons (4-8) host Nicholls (7-5) in a three-game Southland series beginning Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field. The series also includes a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee and a 1 p.m. Sunday first pitch.
 
"It is a new season with the conference opener coming up Friday," first-year coach Bobby Barbier said. "It allows us to play a familiar opponent back at home. We are excited about getting started with conference play."
 
Northwestern State closed the 2016 regular season with 10 straight Southland Conference victories, which set a school record for consecutive conference victories.
 
Barbier said he does not necessarily expect a carryover effect from a run that carried the Demons to the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament a season ago.
 
"This is a new team, so I do not put much stock into that," Barbier said. "We need to be concerned with playing well Friday night."
 
Northwestern State dropped four of five games on its road trip to Kansas and Kansas State. Friday's opener marks the Demons first game at Brown-Stroud Field since an 8-6, 12-inning loss to then-No. 16 UL Lafayette on Feb. 28.
 
The Demons saw an uptick in offense late in its road trip, scoring at least seven runs in three of the final four games, topped by a nine-run output in the finale at Kansas State.
 
The nine runs tied a season high for the Demons, who also scored nine times in a 9-5 win against Arkansas State on Feb. 25.
 
In the finale at Kansas State, Northwestern State enjoyed its first multi-home run game of the season as redshirt freshman Austin Townsend and junior Cade Jones connected on their first career home runs.
 
Jones' blast was part of an early-season hot streak in which the left-handed hitting outfielder has hit .435 while producing a .696 slugging percentage and a .594 on-base percentage. All three are team-leading totals.
 
Jones' hot bat will be a bonus for the Demons as they face a Colonels staff that has pitched to a 3.60 ERA through its first 12 games.
 
"Cade is a really good hitter, and it is nice to see him off to a hot start," Barbier said. "He is a guy who
can hit for some power but always gives us good at-bats through the game."
  Friday: Nicholls RHP Cole Stapler (1-1, 1.42) at Northwestern State RHP Nathan Jones (0-2, 6.28)
Saturday: Nicholls RHP Cayden Hatcher (0-1, 7.24) at Northwestern State RHP John Carter Sanner (1-1, 4.70
Sunday: Nicholls LHP Mike Hanchar (2-0, 0.83) at Northwestern State RHP Evan Tidwell (1-1, 7.24)