BEAUMONT, Texas -- Families across the country will get together this Easter weekend, but Northwestern State softball will have a different type of reunion when the Lady Demons head to Lamar.

NSU (22-19, 12-6 Southland Conference) and coach Donald Pickett will face a Cardinals squad (20-26, 11-7 SLC) led by former Lady Demons assistant Amy Hooks.

The series begins Friday with a 4 p.m. doubleheader with a Saturday finale at 1 p.m.

Both teams are in a strong position to make the SLC Tournament in Natchitoches with three series remaining, but plenty of jockeying will take place as the regular season speeds to its end.

In her first season as a head coach, Hooks has guided the Cardinals into postseason contention on the strength of a 10-3 mark in one-run games this season.

Hooks spent six seasons at NSU, assisting Donald Pickett as the Lady Demons made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2013 and 2014 with an SLC regular season championship in 2015.

"They've won a lot of close games, and we'll have to be tough between the ears when we go down there," Pickett said. "They've got good pitchers, and we have to make sure that their hitters at the top of their lineup don't get on base a lot.

"We've got to bring the fight and energy we need to be successful as we've struggled on the road a bit this year."

Former NSU shortstop Tara McKenney is a volunteer assistant on Hooks' Lamar staff after playing from 2011-14 and earning All-SLC status for three seasons. McKenney was an NSU volunteer assistant from 2016-18.

The Lady Demons are on a four-game winning streak after topping Louisiana Tech in Ruston before sweeping Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home.

NSU is a three-way tie for fourth place with Stephen F. Austin and Southeastern, the latter of which beat Lamar twice in Hammond this past weekend. Two more league wins clinch a tournament spot for NSU, who is three games back of conference leader Nicholls (15-3 SLC).

"Going to Louisiana Tech and winning on the road was a big thing for us, and we bounced back and took up that challenge," Pickett said. "We battled through some stuff this past weekend, but we kept our focus and finished the sweep on Sunday.

"We want to carry it through to the Lamar series, and we've got to show that we can be consistent on the road."

NSU has seven wins away from Natchitoches this season, but perhaps the most important two came at second-place Sam Houston State (14-4 SLC).

Lamar has a series win against one (SFA) of the three top-six teams its played in the league, but the Cardinals finish with three other top teams.

"It's very important not to just get into the conference tournament, but it's also important for us to build momentum going into the tournament," said junior outfielder Elise Vincent. "We've been building more confidence in ourselves after struggling a little bit, we're excited to go play Lamar this weekend."

Vincent has been a key piece of NSU's offense, which ranks fourth in the SLC in runs scored (178) and third in RBIs (160).

After splitting time in right field for most of the season, Vincent has been the primary starter in SLC play with a .333 batting average in 18 league appearances.

"I've been very comfortable (in the No. 9 hole), and I'm happy that I'm able to contribute to the team, whether it be sacrifice bunts, getting hits or putting the ball in play," Vincent said. "I'm not such a big hitter, but I'm helping set the table for (lead-off hitter) Cayla Jones to get clutch hits."