NATCHITOCHES – As Northwestern State softball fans pounded thunder sticks in celebration of the Lady Demons opening home series Friday, the Lady Demons finally found their offensive thunder to pull away from Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a 6-0 win.

NSU (10-7) poured in four runs in the sixth inning to separate itself from a 2-0 game that was tightly contested.

Four different Lady Demons contributed RBIs in its only inning with multiple runs.

Sophomore catcher Emma Hawthorne and freshman second baseman Cayla Jones provided RBI hits while freshman shortstop Elyssa Hernandez and senior centerfielder Sidney Salmans put balls in play to score one run each.

NSU coach Donald Pickett preferred his offense to be more efficient earlier in the game, but he's pleased the Lady Demons moved runners to create scoring situations in the sixth inning.

"(Senior pitcher) Micaela Bouvier kept them down while we struggled offensively," Pickett said. "We didn't make adjustments to hit the ball hard, and we have to change that and it has to become more important to us.

"It was big to move runners in the sixth inning with Kayla Roquemore and Elyssa Hernandez laying down consecutive bunts to put pressure on them. Now we have to execute our offensive approach throughout the game."

Bouvier tied a career high with 10 strikeouts in her first shutout since April 29, 2016, against Stephen F. Austin.

With a 2-0 lead, Bouvier (4-1) walked the bases loaded but recorded the final two outs with no harm done in the sixth inning with just a 2-0 lead. Hawthorne caught a runner stealing to open the inning that proved key in keeping the shutout.

"It felt great, and you just have to stay within yourself with the walks and keep pushing," Bouvier said. "I know that my defense and my hitters are behind me.

"I've been working really hard to come back from a (shoulder) injury, and it definitely reassures that my work is being brought to the field."

Bouvier struck out a pair of Golden Lions in each of the first two innings and held UAPB hitless until the fourth inning.

The Sante Fe, Texas, native finished with three hits allowed and four walks with her 10 strikeouts to lower her season ERA to 1.83.

Bouvier missed most of 2017 with a shoulder injury, one she fought through toward the end of 2016 and into this past offseason.

Offensively, Jones (2-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) was rock solid for the Lady Demons early as she scored NSU's first run and drove in the second run.

Sophomore first baseman Hayley Barbazon drove in Jones (walked) in the first inning. Jones hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to put NSU up 2-0. She has a team-high three home runs this season.

UAPB pitcher Angelique Ramos frustrated NSU early, but she finished the night with six runs allowed on eight hits with four walks.

Pickett was all smiles before the game as former NSU coach Rickey McCalister, the former winningest coach in program history (245 career wins) before Pickett broke that record earlier this month, presented Pickett with a framed photo.

Pickett threw out the first pitch in front of dozens of softball alumni who returned to celebrate his milestone, owning NSU's career wins record with 251.

"It's awesome seeing Rickey out there and our former players out there, and it means a lot to me for them to come back and be around the program," Pickett said. "Rickey did really big things here, and he got things rolling with the first Southland Conference championship (1991).

"He's always been really supportive of me and our team any time we've asked for help. He's always at our games. Other coaches like Gay McNutt did a great job, too, and I'm just trying to keep taking it forward."

The UAPB series continues Saturday with a noon doubleheader.

Fans 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.