NATCHITOCHES – By the time the Northwestern State baseball team opens its three-game series against Austin Peay on Friday night at Brown-Stroud Field, it will have been nearly a week since the Demons were in action.
 
In a season where longer breaks will be commonplace, the Demons are embracing the changes, starting with the 6:30 p.m. series opener.
 
The series also consists of a 2 p.m. Saturday first pitch and a 1 p.m. Sunday matinee. Free streaming audio of all three games will be available on www.NSUDemons.com and through the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices. Subscription video will be offered through the same channels for Friday's and Sunday's games.
 
"It's different," said fifth-year head coach Bobby Barbier, whose team will not play another mid-week game until March 30 against LSU-Alexandria. "If anything, we've learned over the last 13 months that different will be the norm.
 
"It's almost like a football week schedule. We have to figure out how we want to prepare each day of the week. Our staff has done a good job of that and our players have responded well to it."
 
Barbier also said the extra time between games will be beneficial for Northwestern State (3-4) from a coaching standpoint, allowing for more detailed self-scouting and opponent breakdown.
 
Instead of being able nearly immediately to build off Gabe Colaianni's walk-off, three-run home run that lifted NSU to a doubleheader sweep of Tarleton, the Demons spent the past week with a more inward focus, especially on the mound.
 
"We had five to eight guys, who we count on and will count on through the year, who didn't get a chance to throw this past weekend," Barbier said. "They went live Wednesday, because we know we are going to need them, especially once we get into those four-game weekends."
 
Those begin in a week when Incarnate Word visits Brown-Stroud Field for the Southland Conference opener.
 
For now, the Demons turn their attention to Austin Peay (1-6), which brings with it a familiar face for both Barbier and longtime Northwestern State baseball fans in head coach Travis Janssen, who spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Demons from 2001-04.
 
For two seasons, Janssen got to know Barbier the player. Now the two will square off as head coaches for the first time.
 
"Travis coached me for a couple of years," Barbier said. "I saw he had an opening, so I reached out and we got it done. I'm happy he's getting back to town. I hope some of the people in town who know him get a chance to come out and see him."
 
The Governors (1-6) are off to a tough start, but Barbier cautioned against just looking at Austin Peay's record.
 
"They're a good team," he said. "They played Tennessee on Wednesday night and lost 5-3 to a top-20 team. It will be a good challenge for us. It will be a good opportunity to get some at-bats and a good opportunity to get better, and that's what it's about right now."
 
Series Probables
Friday: Austin Peay LHP Harley Gollert (0-1, 3.38) at Northwestern State RHP Johnathan Harmon (0-2, 6.48)
Saturday: Austin Peay RHP Peyton Jula (0-2, 5.62) at Northwestern State LHP Cal Carver (1-0, 0.00)
Sunday: Austin Peay TBA at Northwestern State RHP Levi David (0-1, 7.50)