NATCHITOCHES – When the Northwestern State baseball team hosts state rival UL Monroe on Tuesday night, it may be tougher to tell which team has been more affected by early-season weather issues.
 
The Demons and Warhawks meet at 6 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field with both coming off weather-affected weekend series. Northwestern State's three-game series with Southern was reduced to a Sunday doubleheader while ULM's three-game series against SIU-Edwardsville concluded with a noon game Monday.
 
Tuesday's matchup will be Northwestern State's first mid-week matchup after its scheduled home opener against LSU on Feb. 20 was postponed until March 12.
 
The Demons (2-3) saw the first two scheduled days of play against Southern pushed back before ultimately shrinking the series to Sunday's twinbill.
 
"We've had a little bad luck with the weather," third-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. "We need to get out and play some games, developing the team we need to be. You don't want to make excuses. We would have liked to play and practice over those times. We're fortunate where we are in the country to be able to practice, because a lot of teams can't get out and practice because of the cold, so we have to look at it as a blessing."
 
ULM (3-3) also fought weather-related battles to complete its series with SIU-Edwardsville. The Warhawks split a doubleheader with the Cougars before capturing the series with a 4-1 win Monday afternoon.
 
On paper, the Warhawks share some similarities with the Demons from a season ago.
 
Second-year coach Michael Federico has a roster loaded with newcomers looking to improve on a sub-.500 season.
 
"They have a 27 new players," Barbier said. "It's a much different team. It's hard to know much about a team with 27 new players when you're (six) games in. We don't know much about our team five games in, and we have a lot of guys back. We know they're going to be a good team. Mike does a really good job. We know they'll be well coached."
 
The Demons will start senior right-hander Cullen McDonald, who makes his season debut after posting a 3-0 record with a 3.52 ERA as a junior. ULM has not announced its starting pitcher.
 
The matchup is one of three times the Demons and Warhawks will face each other in 2019. The other two will come in Monroe on April 9 and May 14, the final mid-week game of the season for both teams.
 
It also marks the start of a four-game run against Sun Belt Conference teams for the Demons, who split two games with the Warhawks a year ago and 4-2 against Sun Belt teams in 2018. Northwestern State hosts Little Rock in a three-game series beginning Friday at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
"They're going to be confident, a good team who will swing it a bit," Barbier said. "They've got a bunch of left-handed hitters. It will be a really good challenge for us, especially early in the season. We like to play good teams who expose your flaws. It will make for a good Tuesday night."