NATCHITOCHES -- Toughness and fight.
 
Those two words have been repeated about Northwestern State softball's series at Sam Houston State this past weekend after the Lady Demons overcame being no-hit in the first game, winning the second game in 10 innings before running away with the series finale.
 
Those words also apply to redshirt senior pitcher Mikayla Brown, a key figure not just in Friday's 10-inning win but is one of the most decorated pitchers in NSU history.
 
Brown, who has transformed into a hybrid starter/reliever role this season, pitched a solid 5 1/3 relief innings Friday with just one earned run to jumpstart NSU's eventual series win.
 
Entering in the fifth inning, Brown actually lost a 2-1 lead over the next two innings, but her grit pushed her to hold the Bearkats scoreless in the final four frames to allow NSU's offense time to scratch across runs.
 
That same fight will be needed when NSU (10-13, 2-1 Southland Conference) hosts a hungry Abilene Christian (7-12, 1-2 SLC) squad. Friday's doubleheader starts at 4 p.m. with the Saturday finale scheduled for 1 p.m., the latter of which includes St. Patty's Day giveaways.
 
"We knew after the no-hitter (Friday), we'd come back and win (the series) regardless, and we showed a lot of fight," Brown said. "I knew my defense was going to be behind me, and I knew I just had to throw my pitches.
 
"The new role is different, but I like it. I can come in and get the job done. If I'm the starter and I need help, I know this (pitching staff) has got my back."
 
Brown (2-2) has a team-low ERA of 1.87, which ranks sixth in the league. She has nine appearances (six in relief) with just eight walks to 26 strikeouts.
 
The Deville native regained control of her pitches (172 walks combined in the previous two seasons), and she credits pitching coach Brooke Boening for adjusting her form.
 
"(Boening) saw the problem and fixed it right off the bat," Brown said. "It's been a process, but it's worked."
 
Just two of Brown's earned runs allowed have been in relief (18 innings), which includes 3 2/3 scoreless innings at No. 12 Arkansas. Her best start this season is a shutout against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Brown's ninth career shutout.
 
Boening was the pitching coach in 2015 when Brown won Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year as a freshman and NSU won the league regular season title. Brown posted a mind-boggling 1.56 ERA with a 13-4 record and two saves.
 
That's before Brown tore her ACL for a second time in 2016 (the other occurred in a high school basketball game) and began an intense recovery process that tested her physically and mentally.
 
"The greatest thing is I've gotten to see how she's evolved," Boening said. "She had a phenomenal freshman year, and since returning from (the ACL injury), she's had to adjust because conference teams had seen her before.
 
"She was more of a one-dimensional pitcher as a freshman, and she was able to do what she needed to do that season. But she's become a great student of the game having watched from the sidelines, and you can see it now in her effectiveness in a starter or reliever role because she can control multiple pitches."
 
Boening added that Brown "bought in" to the hybrid role and has helped the younger pitching staff evolve into one of the top groups in the league.
 
NSU has four pitchers with at least 25 innings pitched this season, just one of three SLC staffs with that level of diversity.
 
Head coach Donald Pickett said having extra arms like junior Samantha Guile, sophomore E.C. Delafield and freshman Bronte Rhoden has relieved pressure off Brown.
 
At times in her career, Brown served as the primary pitcher as the staff crossed their fingers that she could throw two complete games in a weekend series.
 
"We've been able to keep them fresh and healthy for the most part," Pickett said. "We can also give opponents a different look with left-handers and right-handers to keep them off-balanced.
 
"Having these other kids has taken pressure off Mikayla. For a few years, it was her and Micaela Bouvier with a little help from pitchers like (Delafield). Now she has more help, and she's definitely been more crisp when she pitches. Mikayla is a big part of what we're doing, and she's pitching well right now."
 
With Friday's win, Brown moved past her former teammate Bouvier into seventh place on NSU's career win list with 43. Brown could climb as high as third all-time (51) with eight weeks remaining in the season. Her .597 winning percentage (43-29) is tied with Bouvier for sixth all-time.
 
But Brown isn't concerned with program rankings.
 
"I want to make my senior season the best it can be," said Brown, who pitching without a knee brace after wearing a brace as a sophomore and junior. "I'm trying not think about it being the end.
 
"I want to make it memorable. I'm trying to be in the younger pitchers' ears to tell them what to expect, but I also look up to them because they have that spark about them. It's going to take a lot of fight and energy, and (winning games) will be about who wants it the most. I know we want it."
 
Brown has made plenty of memories, but one she hasn't experienced yet is an NCAA Tournament. The Lady Demons could make that postseason a reality by winning the SLC Tournament this May on their home turf in Natchitoches.