Demon Baseball | 2/26/2018 2:38:00 PM

NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State baseball team's Tuesday visit to longtime rival Louisiana Tech starts a pair of streaks for the Demons.
 
The 6 p.m. matchup with the Bulldogs opens a nine-game road trip for the Demons, who will not return home until March 13. The first six games of the trip are against teams whose head coach has ties to Northwestern State.
 
The first of those comes Tuesday when the Demons (4-3) face the Bulldogs (5-3) and head coach Lane Burroughs, who coached Northwestern State from 2013-16.
 
"It doesn't change much on our end," second-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. "Yeah, Lane knows how I like to call pitches, and I know how he likes to run a game. So maybe there will be some mind games there. It's not like losing your defensive coordinator in football and now he's on the other team, so you know every defense they're going to run. It's a sport of individually competitive moments.
 
"When that pitcher is facing that hitter, Lane and I have very little to do with it, but it will be fun to see him. I know Lane will be excited for us coming up there."
 
Northwestern State will send right-hander Jerry Maddox (0-1, 8.10) to the mound against Louisiana Tech's David Leal (1-0, 0.00). Both pitchers worked their respective teams' first midweek games of the season with different results.
 
Maddox took the loss in the Demons' 11-6 loss at ULM while Leal tossed seven scoreless innings in Louisiana Tech's win against McNeese.
 
Barbier said he learned from what happened prior to Maddox' first start as a Demon.
 
"Jerry didn't have his best stuff last time," Barbier said. "We threw him that inning on Saturday (against Binghamton). This time, we decided to give him his full rest. He threw a normal bullpen on Saturday. I have all the confidence in the world in Jerry. He's mature. He knows how to handle not pitching well and then bouncing back. If he executes his pitches, he'll be fine."
 
Through seven games, no one has bounced back more for Northwestern State than center fielder Kwan Adkins.
 
In each of the past two seasons, Adkins has not broken the .200 mark in batting average, but he is off to an 11-for-23 start at the plate.
 
Adkins produced two-hit games in each of the three games the Demons played against Penn this past weekend, lifting his average to .478. Add in three walks and a hit by pitch and Adkins has reached base at a .556 clip through the first week and a half of his senior season.
 
"It's surprising for everybody who doesn't come to practice or who has just see his game at-bats from last year," Barbier said. "Kwan's always done well in the fall and early spring, and for whatever reason, the spring hasn't gone the way he's wanted. That's the guy we've seen in practice.
 
"Baseball is a sport where you have to give guys time, and everyone needs a different amount of time. Kwan is a tremendous athlete. He runs down balls left and right. When he moves the ball and puts it in play, he's going to get a hit about half the time because he runs so well."
 
Adkins spent the fall playing wide receiver for the Northwestern State football team. He made his NSU debut on the gridiron in Ruston, catching his first career pass – a 21-yarder – during the Demons' Sept. 2 season opener
 
Much like his coach, Adkins attributes the time he spent playing football to helping him become a more productive baseball player.
 
"Over the break, I had a chance to take a lot of time away from baseball by playing football," Adkins said. "It got me back to believing in myself, not thinking about it and going out and playing the game. Physically, I got stronger playing football because those workouts with (strength and conditioning) coach (Jared) Myatt are no joke.
 
"As far as the mental side of baseball, I was able to take a break and reset my mind back to knowing I can play the game. I've never played this much baseball in my life, year-round. It was always baseball, football, basketball, a mix of sports. It made a big difference."
 
Adkins has started all seven games in center field for the Demons and likely will extend that streak to eight, giving him a chance to start against the Bulldogs in two sports in the span of five-plus months.
 
"It's crazy to think about," Adkins said. "It's a blessing that I get a chance to start against them in football and baseball. Not many guys get to say they had that opportunity. I'm definitely thankful for it."
 
Tuesday's game can be heard at www.nsudemons.com/watch.