HOUSTON -- After Northwestern State softball topped Nicholls in a series this past weekend to keep pace with potential Southland Conference Tournament qualifiers, the Lady Demons are aiming to create separation as they head to Houston Baptist for a three-game set starting Friday.
 
Friday's doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. with Saturday's finale at noon.
 
NSU (20-27-1, 10-11 SLC) is tied for sixth place with Central Arkansas (19-30, 10-11 SLC) among tournament-eligible teams as five teams are fighting for the bottom three seeds in the six-team tournament.
 
The Lady Demons trail Sam Houston State (20-22, 11-10 SLC) by a game and Stephen F. Austin (17-27, 9-9 SLC) by a half-game as NSU could vault itself to the No. 4 seed with two series remaining.
 
NSU doesn't play SHSU or SFA in the regular season and finish with the Bears in Natchitoches this weekend.
 
But before the Lady Demons can turn their attention to their final home series, NSU will need to take care of business at Houston Baptist (15-22, 6-15 SLC).
 
NSU has won its last three series -- beating UIW, Southeastern and Nicholls all by a series score of 2-1 -- but the Huskies have been more competitive in recent weeks.
 
HBU won two of three from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9-30, 3-15 SLC) and challenged SFA and Southeastern (23-25, 9-12) in close series losses.
 
The Huskies are 6-6 in their last four series compared with 7-5 for NSU.
 
"Houston Baptist does a really good job of not beating themselves," said NSU coach Donald Pickett. "They make plays, move runners and put pressure on defenses.
 
"You have to make sure you're in the game and can't lose focus because they can move runners. That's how they build momentum."
 
Sophomore pitcher Mikayla Brown (13-11, 3.48 ERA) continued her hot streak by picking up two wins against Nicholls this past weekend. In the first win, Brown pitched six shutout innings before allowing a run in the seventh inning of a 2-1 victory.
 
The Deville native has won nine of her last 11 starts and is 9-4 in her last 13 decisions.
 
Senior Kellye Kincannon leads the offense as she's in the top four in six different SLC categories. Her 11 home runs, 11 doubles and four triples rank second in the league, and she's fourth with 39 RBIs.
 
Kincannon is tied for NSU's career home run record with 53.
 
Senior Micayla Sorosiak, who smacked a crucial three-run home run in a 6-5 series finale win against Nicholls, leads the conference with 12 doubles.
 
NSU leads the all-time series with Houston Baptist 12-2, including a 2-1 series win in Natchitoches in 2016.
 
While the Lady Demons won't be in the friendly confines of Lady Demon Diamond this weekend, nine NSU players are from within a 50-mile radius of Houston.
 
Junior Sidney Salmans, a Woodlands, Texas, native who walked Nicholls off in the 2-1 win, said she delights in playing in front of family and friends late in the season.
 
"I know everyone from Houston enjoys it," Salmans said. "We don't often get to go home during this part of the year, and it's nice to get to have a lot more fans and friendly faces in the stands."