MOBILE, Ala. — Northwestern State softball head coach Donald Pickett has lauded his team's depth. He thought he was going to receive a closer look at that aforementioned depth at the Lady Demon Classic or the Baylor Getterman Classic, but weather issues delayed that closer look.

Pickett will finally have the opportunity to see his deep and talented roster tackle a weekend tournament, as NSU competes in the South Alabama Invitational. The tournament begins Friday at Jaguar Field with the Lady Demons taking on SIU-Edwardsville at 10 a.m.

"We've got some really talented kids and some of them come off the bench and help us win, and that in and of itself helps us stay competitive," Pickett said. "It keeps everybody on their toes, and keeps everyone working hard because we push each other. We do a good job of that, and the kids have really bought into that and used that a positive thing."

The depth proliferates every corner of NSU's team. All three phases, offensively, defensively and pitching have a number of different players that can contribute.

That was evident during the Lady Demons' season-opening doubleheader against Grambling on Tuesday. They received contributions up and down the lineup en route to 10-0 and 9-1 run-rule victories. 

It started in the circle where sophomore starter Bronte Rhoden and junior starter Jensen Howell perplexed the Tigers. Rhoden tossed five innings of scoreless baseball with a career-high six strikeouts, while Howell went four innings and didn't allow a hit. 

Seven different players registered a base knock in the opener against Grambling, and five of those hits went for extra bases. Two of those extra-base hits were home runs, one by senior outfielder Kaitlyn St. Clair and another by sophomore infielder Maggie Black. 

Nine different players logged a hit in the nightcap, and three Lady Demons enjoyed multi-hit games. Howell led the charge with a pair of doubles and four RBIs.

While the two games were a good start in nearly every facet, Pickett still wants his team to gain more reps. That will occur in Mobile with NSU playing five games in three days. 

"We want to put our kids in situations defensively of getting comfortable again and confident again with being able to be moving and playing fast — speed of the game stuff," Pickett said. "I think it will come once we get back into the groove of consistently playing."

The South Alabama Invitational field includes the Cougars, Middle Tennessee, Missouri and the host Jaguars. That's teams from Conference USA, SEC and Sun Belt, which will provide stiff competition for the Lady Demons. 

"We are going to play a lot of quality programs this weekend," Pickett said. "After this weekend, we'll kind of have an idea of where we are at. … There are going to be different challenges every game with what the teams bring."

SIU-Edwardsville has yet to begin its 2021 schedule, as the Lion Classic in Hammond was canceled. The Cougars went 13-5 in its shortened 2020 season, owning wins over Boise State and Indiana. NSU is 0-2 all-time against SIU-Edwardsville with its last matchup occurring in 2017. 

Middle Tennessee went 15-13 a season ago, and one of those victories was a 2-1 win over the Lady Demons during the Madri Gras Mambo. In its history, NSU is 1-2 all-time against the Blue Raiders. Middle Tennessee is 1-2 thus far in 2021. 

Missouri finished 2020 with a 19-7 record, which went along with being ranked 16th in the RPI. The Lady Demons squared off against the Tigers once in 1999, and dropped that game, 1-0 (eight innings). Missouri is 6-2 this season with wins over Ole Miss and No. 12 Florida State. 

South Alabama finished at 8-17 in 2020, however, it has already won half that amount of games in 2021, sitting at 4-4. NSU is 1-3 all-time against the Jaguars with the last meeting being in 2010. 

Following the South Alabama Invitational, Northwestern State will head home and battle Southern on Tuesday at 5 p.m.