NATCHITOCHES -- Winning Southland Conference games is important no matter the opponent or time of year, but Northwestern State may have a little extra focus as the Lady Demons open league play at home against Lamar this weekend.

The Cardinals (11-9) have won four straight and six of the last seven in the series, including sweeping NSU in Beaumont and handing the Lady Demons its first SLC Tournament loss this past season.

Now NSU (12-7) will attempt to start its SLC slate on the right foot with Friday's doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. and Saturday's series finale at 2 p.m.

Fans not in the stands can catch the action via live video and audio on nsudemons.com or listen to Patrick Netherton on the Demons Sports Radio Network on 100.7 FM KZBL (games two and three).

"It's very important no matter who we are playing to get a series win in conference play, but playing a competitive team like Lamar who's been in the top half of the conference the past few years is even more important," said NSU coach Donald Pickett. "Hopefully everything we've done up to this point has prepared us for this weekend.

"Being at home, we're hoping for a good crowd, and hopefully we'll play the best we have all season."

The Lady Demons have posted the second-best nonconference record in the SLC to date, trailing McNeese (16-5), who is ranked No. 25 in the nation.

NSU swept Arkansas-Pine Bluff this past weekend, holding the Lions scoreless in 20 of 21 innings. The Lady Demons have beaten UAPB five times this season.

The earlier road sweep against UAPB started an eight-game winning streak that culminated with six wins in the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission's Lady Demon Classic. NSU took three from Jackson State (all by run rule), two from Stephen F. Austin and one from Memphis.

Nine of NSU's 12 wins have come against Southwestern Athletic Conference members.

NSU has already played three weekend series this season, dropping a pair of heartbreaking 1-run games at Texas Tech in a three-game sweep after opening the season with three losses at then-No. 10 Baylor. The Lady Demons were relatively competitive on the second day against the Bears, dropping by scores of 8-4 and 4-1.

Seven of NSU's eight position starters are freshmen and sophomores, including four primary starters in their first seasons of regular playing time.

Three of those -- sophomore third baseman Sidney Harris, sophomore right fielder Madelyn Matt and freshman second baseman Cayla Jones -- are among the team's hitting leaders.

Harris leads the team in batting average (.387), on-base percentage and is tied for the team lead in RBIs (14).

Jones also has 14 RBIs to go with her team lead in hits (18), doubles (3) and home runs (3). The Missouri City, Texas, native won the SLC Hitter of the Week (week two), NSU's first such honor since 2016.

Matt was batting well over .400 before a slightly down weekend dropped her average to .375. The Natchitoches native started the last 13 games, including two appearances in the top two slots of the order, after limited playing time.

The new blood has helped energize an offense that ranks in the top three in the SLC in 10 different categories.

"We started out pretty good, but we struggled a little more than we'd like this past weekend (against Arkansas-Pine Bluff)," Pickett said. "The girls have really worked hard this week to make adjustments, and we're hoping to have quality at-bats up and down the lineup to help us win."

Sophomore catcher Emma Hawthorne shined with four hits and five RBIs on the weekend. She raised her average to .275 and is third on the team with 11 RBIs after having just 18 this past season.

"I've been putting in a lot of extra work and have been trusting the process," Hawthorne said. "All of us have been working hard this year and bringing the energy into this week because we really want to get some wins this weekend.

"I think our pitchers are ready for conference play, too. They've kept us in a lot of tough games and have been doing well."

Senior pitcher Micaela Bouvier (5-1) has successfully recovered from shoulder injuries that have plagued her most of the last two seasons.

Bouvier has allowed just two runs in her last four outings, including 11 scoreless innings against UAPB. She's 3-0 in those four outings that includes a seven-inning no-decision in which she surrendered just one run to Texas Tech in an eventual 10-inning loss.

Junior Mikayla Brown (4-2) has had flashes of her 2015 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year self, but 23 combined free passes and untimely hits have contributed to her 4.29 ERA.

Freshman E.C. Delafield (3-3) has been key as a primary reliever, and her 10 relief appearances leads the SLC. She picked up a relief win against UAPB after suffering losses in three of her last four outings.

Two of those losses were in tough spots at Texas Tech, and she's pitched well against the Red Raiders and Baylor (five runs allowed in 10 1/3 innings).

Lamar is on a four-game winning streak that includes knocking off Penn State, 8-3. The Cardinals are 3-5 against Power 5 teams with wins against Virginia Tech and Kansas.