ABILENE, Texas – Levi David loves to pitch in his home state.
 
For the second straight Southland Conference start, the Northwestern State baseball team's hard-throwing right-hander reached double-figure strikeouts, lifting the Demons to a 5-3 win against Abilene Christian and securing a split of Friday's doubleheader after the Wildcats took the opener, 11-0.
 
"We've talked about it before – Levi has electric stuff," fifth-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. "When he competes in the strike zone, he makes it tough on guys. He really had the breaking ball going. They had all the momentum after the first game. I told them momentum starts and stops on the mound. He smothered them and got the momentum back on our side."
 
David (2-2) matched his career high in strikeouts (12) and innings pitched (seven) while working the longest scoreless outing of his career.
 
His overpowering outing, which saw David retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced following a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, made sure the Demons (12-13, 6-5) will do no worse than split the four-game league series.
 
While David became sharper as the game grew longer, the Northwestern State offense scratched out a couple of runs off Abilene Christian left-hander Adam Stephenson (0-4) in the fourth as Jeffrey Elkins scored on a passed ball after a leadoff walk.
 
Peyton Davis singled home catcher Marshall Skinner, who followed Elkins with a walk as part of a 3-for-3 game in which he reached base in all five plate appearances, to give David all the support he needed in shutting down the Wildcats (15-10, 8-7).
 
With David cruising, the Demons put together another two-run rally in the seventh to give him a little more cushion, and it was again a member of the NSU bench who helped ignite the rally.
 
Cole Horton delivered a pinch-hit RBI single – the second of the weekend for the NSU bench – to start the two-run seventh, which also included an RBI groundout from Jake Haze.
 
"The wind was howling in, but it's an offensive turf," Barbier said. "The ball gets through the infield quickly. The more balls you put in play, the better shot you have. We had more walks than strikeouts in the second game, and that's going to win you the game most of the time."
 
Those extra runs proved key when Hunter Geiser hit a three-run home run off Alex Makarewich with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Just as his team did, Makarewich answered the challenge.
 
He followed Geiser's home run by striking out three of the final four batters he faced, including the last two of a perfect ninth inning to seal the Demon victory.
 
"We trust Alex with everything," Barbier said. "He hung a breaking ball, and a good hitter made him pay. He came back out in the ninth and commanded the zone with his fastball, and that's a pretty good pitch."
 
Skinner's three hits in the nightcap – which tied a career high -- equaled Northwestern State's number from the opener as the Demons could not solve Abilene Christian right-hander Genner Cervantes (5-0), who shut out the Demons on three singles.
 
NSU put together just one rally against Cervantes as Larson Fontenot and Peyton Davis strung together back-to-back, two-out singles in the fifth inning before Cervantes escaped unscathed.
 
Cal Carver (3-2) took the loss for the Demons, lasting 3 1-3 innings and allowing seven runs (five earned).
 
The series concludes Saturday with a 2:05 p.m. first pitch.
 
Abilene Christian 11-3, Northwestern State 0-5
Game 1
NSU       000 000 0 – 0 3 3
ACU       012 260 x – 11 14 0
W – Genner Cervantes (5-0). L – Cal Carver (3-2). 2B – ACU, Mitchell Dickson, Brett Hammit, Mike Brown. Highlights: ACU, Dickson 3-5, 2B, 2 RBIs; Colton Eager 2-3, 2 RBIs; Grayson Tatrow 2-4; Sebastian Randle 2-3, 2 RBIs.
Game 2
NSU       000 202 201 – 5 9 0
ACU       000 000 030 – 3 5 1
W – Levi David (2-2). L – Adam Stephenson (0-4). 2B – NSU, Jake Haze. HR – ACU, Hunter Geiser (3). Highlights: NSU, Marshall Skinner 3-3. ACU, Mitchell Dickson 2-3.
Records: Northwestern State 12-13, 6-5; Abilene Christian 16-10, 8-6.