LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – Dan Hlad wasn't sure if Kale Emshoff's fly ball had enough to reach the short porch at Little Rock's Gary Hogan Field.
 
Then he saw Tyler Smith cutting through the twilight, leaping against the wall to come away with a spectacular catch to start the ninth inning of the Demons' 6-5 win in the series opener Friday night.
 
"They've got a short porch in right, and I saw Tyler scaling the wall," Hlad said. "I thought it was trouble, but that man's something else out there. He made an unreal, game-saving catch."
 
After Smith saved extra bases, Hlad finished off the second straight win for Northwestern State (6-3) by notching his second career save, working two scoreless innings.
 
Hlad and Smith were in position to make a difference because of a Demons' lineup that has grown up rapidly.
 
For the second straight game, Northwestern State watched a lead disappear in the second half of the game yet put together a multi-run inning to recover for victory.
 
The Demons jumped ahead 4-0 after three innings by taking advantage of command issues by Trojans starter Carter Brown.

When the teams met in May, Brown fired eight innings of one-run ball against the Demons. Friday afternoon, Brown failed to make it past the second inning, forcing the Trojans (5-5) to use six pitchers in the series opener.
 
"I think this was our most complete game," second-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. "I'm so proud of them. I thought we got a really good start on the mound. We fought in our at-bats throughout the game, which is something we haven't shown a lot of early in the season."
 
The Demons' four-run lead dissipated as Little Rock scored five times in the fifth and sixth innings. The final run came when Northwestern State botched a rundown play allowing Troy Alexander to score the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
 
Undeterred, the Demons put together a two-run, eighth-inning rally that showcased their versatility.
 
Sam Taylor, who went 3-for-4 in the first multi-hit game of his career, led off the eighth with a double off Nick Perez (1-1) before Kwan Adkins (3-for-4) beat out a sacrifice bunt to put runners on the corners. An Austin Stegall squeeze bunt scored Taylor with the tying run.
 
The Trojans went back to the bullpen, bringing in closer Justin Garcia, who had struck out 23 batters in his first 12 2-3 innings of the season.

David Fry greeted Garcia with an RBI single through the left side to deliver the winning run.
 
Fry's second hit of the day made a winner of Reed Michel (1-1), who worked a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts to earn the first win of his NSU career.
 
 
"Dave, we say he didn't deliver (in a bases-loaded, sixth-inning at-bat), but he still hit the ball hard, just right at the guy," Barbier said. "I'll take Dave in that spot every time. Reed had a rough time last outing, but against their left-handed hitters, we're going to need Reed."
 
The series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday. Left-hander Ridge Heisler (2-0, 0.00) goes for the Demons against Trojans left-hander Chandler Fidel (1-1, 4.30).
 
Northwestern State 6, Little Rock 5
NSU       031 000 020 – 6 12 1
Little Rock           000 014 000 – 5 7 0
W – Reed Michel (1-1). L – Nick Perez (1-1). S – Danny Hlad (1). 2B – NSU, David Fry, Sam Taylor. Highlights: NSU, Fry 2-4, 2B, RBI; Taylor 3-4, 2B, RBI; Kwan Adkins 3-4, 2 RBIs. LR, Marcus Ragan 2-4; Riley Pittman 2-4; Kale Emshoff 2-4, RBI.
Records: Northwestern State 6-3, Little Rock 5-5.