Demon Baseball | 5/3/2018 10:22:00 AM

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Because of the Southland Conference's rotating baseball schedule, it has been four seasons since Northwestern State traveled to Incarnate Word for a weekend series.
 
As such, Friday's 3 p.m. Southland Conference series opener against UIW will mark the first time the vast majority of the Demons travel party and roster will see action at Sullivan Field.
 
With three series remaining in the regular season, Northwestern State's first trip to UIW since 2014 comes with added importance as it pertains to the Southland Conference standings.
 
The Demons (25-19, 11-10) sit one game behind the Cardinals (28-18, 12-9) for sixth place in the league standings with the conference tournament set to begin in less than three weeks.
 
The situation won't change NSU's plan of attack.
 
"We do it quite often," second-year head coach Bobby Barbier said of playing at unfamiliar venues. "We attack it the same way regardless of the circumstances. We'll see the park, see how the ball hops, see how the lips play and how the ball flies. We approach it as a new opportunity to go out and play well."
 
For three straight weeks, the Demons faced teams that were alone in second place or tied for second in conference play, posting a 5-4 record in that stretch.
 
Starting pitching played a key role in NSU's 11-6 April, its most wins in a month this season. In the Demons' four conference series – where the Demons went a combined 7-5 – starting pitchers Ridge Heisler, Jerry Maddox and Nathan Jones combined for a 1.86 ERA in 12 starts. Eleven of those qualified as quality starts where a pitcher works at least six innings and does not allow more than three earned runs.
 
Led by that trio of starters, the Demons carry a Southland Conference-best 3.22 ERA into this weekend's series, which includes a pair of 12 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday in addition to Friday's series opener.
 
In Southland play, Northwestern State is second in the league with a 3.00 ERA.
 
On the opposite side, UIW leads the conference in batting average (.299) in all games and ranks second in the league in batting average in conference games (.290).
 
"They really swing the bat well," Barbier said. "They rely heavily on their starting pitchers on the weekend, very similar to a lot of teams in our league. Our challenge this week is putting together at-bats to that starter out of the game earlier. HBU's starters were really good. We've got to get that pitch count up and get into the bullpen. We did a pretty good job of that Sunday. We had a lot of good at-bats, including seven in a row where we had a 3-2 count."
 
As they have for most of the season, Kwan Adkins and David Fry have powered the Demons offense. Adkins (.352) and Fry (.349) rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in the conference in batting average.
 
Three of the top four hitters in the league – Ridge Rogers (1^st, .370), Eddy Gonzalez (2^nd, .368) and Ryan Flores (4^th, .364) -- will line up on the other side. That should make for a fine matchup with the Demons' pitching staff.
 
"I'm very proud of all three of those guys for the work they've put in," Barbier said. "They're really talented. Each of them has their own way. We have a pitching program we want them to follow, a guideline or a road map. We like to do some things and have some constants within our program, but we don't want to take away what makes them good. We let them be them."
 
Series probables:
Friday: Northwestern State LHP Ridge Heisler (4-2, 2.53) at Incarnate Word RHP Tyler Miller (3-3, 3.64)
Saturday: Northwestern State RHP Jerry Maddox (5-3, 2.59) at Incarnate Word RHP (4-3, 3.58)
Sunday: Northwestern State RHP Nathan Jones (2-5, 3.18) at Incarnate Word TBA