NATCHITOCHES -- Looking for a little normalcy in an offseason full of bus trips and packed schedules, the Northwestern State softball team returns home to plays its first series at Lady Demon Diamond this weekend.
 
The Lady Demons (9-7) welcome in Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-7) for Friday's 5 p.m. opener with series ending Saturday with a noon doubleheader.
 
NSU played three-game series on the road at Baylor and Texas Tech with midweek road games at UAPB and Prairie View -- all surrounding a jam-packed, six-game home weekend during the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission's Lady Demon Classic.
 
"We hope to get some rest that we need," said NSU coach Donald Pickett. "We'll host (UAPB) in a normal, three-game series at home before we have a week off to prepare for Southland Conference play against Lamar.
 
"We hope to be able to practice on our field and hone in on the things we need to work on this week."
 
Pickett will be throwing out the first pitch Friday after becoming NSU softball's winningest coach in its history.
 
The Lady Demons are celebrating its first home series with $5 general admission tickets, national anthem fireworks, a jump house and giveaways like thunder sticks and T-shirts.
 
Fans attending Saturday's doubleheader should be advised that S. Jefferson St. on campus will be closed from Central Avenue (tennis courts) to Caspari (Prather Coliseum) for the Dragon Boat races on Chaplin Lake.
 
NSU is coming off a doubleheader split with Prairie View A&M on Wednesday, winning 8-1 and losing 4-2.
 
Sophomore third baseman Sidney Harris smashed a grand slam in the first inning of the Lady Demons' win, her second home run of this season.
 
"It's my first grand slam since high school -- it's been awhile," said Harris, who was playing about 45 minutes away from her native Houston. "I was so happy that my grandma, my uncle and my cousins who missed school came and got to see that.
 
"My grandma can't come to a lot of games, so that's one of the few times that her and my uncle can see me play. It was very special to share that moment with them."
 
Harris' other home run came in the first meeting against UAPB. Her solo shot in the fourth inning broke a 2-2 tie in an eventual 7-2 win.

NSU's offensive spree continued in the second game at UAPB as freshman E.C. Delafield contributed three RBIs and sophomores Emma Hawthorne and Harris each had two RBIs in a 12-1 rout.
 
The Lady Demons are 6-1 against Southwestern Athletic Conference members this season after taking two from UAPB, winning all three against Jackson State and splitting with Prairie View A&M. Four of those wins have been run-rule victories.