NATCHITOCHES – As the busiest Southland Conference baseball season in Northwestern State history winds down, Demon skipper Bobby Barbier can admit he was wrong.
 
"When we did the 40-game (conference) schedule, I thought (the standings) would be different," he said. "I thought things would be more spaced out. I was wrong."
 
Indeed as Northwestern State prepares to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Thursday's 6:30 p.m. opener of the four-game series, the Southland standings are quite jumbled with five teams – including the Demons – having clinched spots in the conference tournament, which begins May 26 in Hammond.
 
NSU's final series of the season also includes a 2 p.m. Friday doubleheader and a 1 p.m. Saturday series finale. Senior Day ceremonies for eight players will be held ahead of Saturday's game. All four games can be heard on 95.9 FM and the Demon Sports Network. Free streaming audio and subscription video are available at www.NSUDemons.com and through the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices.
 
Both the Demons (27-24, 20-16) and the Islanders (24-27, 20-14) have clinched berths in the conference tournament, but both teams find themselves in positions where their place in the tournament can vary wildly.
 
"That's not something we can concern ourselves with," Barbier said. "Let's just go play good baseball. We'll do some things different, knowing the tournament is looming on Wednesday. We can still play well when we do things differently. It's important for our guys to understand that. We saw it (against LSU on Tuesday). If we go play with that looseness and that freedom and without expectations, we'll like the results."
 
The results trended upward for the Demons in Tuesday's 7-3 win at LSU, marking the first time NSU had won a game at Alex Box Stadium in more than 10 years. It also took some of the sting off a tough weekend series at Stephen F. Austin where NSU dropped three of four games.
 
Now, the Demons return home to Brown-Stroud Field, which has been a welcome sight all season – especially in the past two home series. After splitting their first two home Southland series, the Demons are 7-1 in home matchups against Nicholls and McNeese.
 
NSU's home-field success will be put to the test against a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi team that has won 17 of its past 23 Southland games, propelling it to third place in the conference standings. Included in that run are a four-game sweep of Central Arkansas and a three-game sweep of Southeastern Louisiana, both of which came in Corpus Christi.
 
"They're on fire right now," Barbier said. "They had some bad luck earlier in the year or else their overall record would be a lot different. They've played really well since they have had a full deck. Hopefully, we can build on the excitement from (Tuesday's win against LSU), have a good crowd and the weather will stay away."
 
Northwestern State will honor eight players ahead of Saturday's game – pitchers Peyton Graham and Reed Michel, first baseman Cameron Horton, outfielders Lenni Kunert, Tyler Smith and Ryan Zimmerman and catchers Marshall Skinner and Tyler Thibodeaux.
 
"We have a wide range of seniors," Barbier said. "Some of these guys were part of my first recruiting class as a head coach, so it's special for me. It's special to have their parents here with the guys we first sat down with and gave them the vision of what our program could be. Their sons have been a big part of that."
 
Series Probables
Thursday – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi LHP John Gaddis (5-3, 2.53) at Northwestern State LHP Cal Carver (6-5, 3.35)
Friday – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi LHP Jaime Ramirez (7-2, 3.24) and RHP Hayden Thomas (4-3, 3.38) at Northwestern State RHP Donovan Ohnoutka (2-2, 3.06) and RHP Levi David (2-5, 4.34)
Saturday – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi TBA at Northwestern State RHP Johnathan Harmon (4-4, 5.37)