YOUNGSVILLE – Northwestern State split its pair of games on the second day of the Mardi Gras Mambo with an 8-3 loss to No. 2 Alabama, but bounced back for a 5-3 against St. Thomas to close the day.
 
NSU finishes the weekend in South Louisiana on Sunday with an 11 a.m. start against Portland State.
 
Alabama 8, NSU 3
 
Alabama jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the bottom of the first, and after a quick five-pitch inning by the Lady Demon offense, stretched the lead to eight after two innings.
 
The Tide cashed in two early walks, one coming home on a hit by pitch and the other a 2-run single up the middle. A two-out bases-loaded free pass made it an 8-0 game before a ground ball to second ended the long half inning.
 
The Lady Demons bounced back well in the third.
 
Nani Winger ripped a one-out double down the line and came in to score on an RBI single from Bailie Ragsdale, the first two of four straight hits for NSU. Ragsdale raced home on a fly ball to right off the bat of Kat Marshall to make it an 8-2 game.
 
Kenzie Seely, who entered the game in the in relief with one out in the second inning, kept the touted Alabama lineup in check for the rest of the game. After scoring eight runs on six hits in the first two innings, Seely did not allow a run and gave up just two hits over the final four innings.
 
"She did a really good job coming in there to stop the bleeding," head coach Donald Pickett said. "She did well against them and they really didn't even threaten. We played a lot better the last half of the game, but they're a great team and a great program and you have to play every inning at your best to have a chance to win and we didn't do that early on."
 
NSU put another run on the board in the fourth as once again Ragsdale came through with a single to center to bring Makenzie Chaffin in to score who started the inning with a walk.
 
Alabama had the only two hits the rest of the way, a pair of two-out singles coming in the fourth and sixth innings that caused no concern for the Lady Demons. The Tide's Montana Fouts retired the final 10 batters in a row following Ragsdale's RBI single.
 
"I was really proud of them for getting hits and getting base runners on and making them go to their number one pitcher," Pickett said. "We had a couple of runners on and one swing of the bat we'd have been right back in it, but she came in a did what she's supposed to do for them.
 
"Hopefully we learned something today and we can be a little more confident and believing in ourselves a little more going out in the first inning and not have to feel things out before we start playing."
 
NSU 5, St. Thomas 3
 
Like they did in the first game of the day, the Lady Demons fell behind in the first inning. A solo home run gave the Tommies the 1-0 lead two batters into their half of the frame. Starter Maggie Darr limited the damage to just the one run with a fly ball to center and a strikeout to end the inning.
 
The Lady Demons responded right away, picking up three runs in the top of the second to take the lead.
 
Two errors and a base hit to start the inning loaded the bases and NSU took full advantage of the miscues. Lexie Roos picked up an RBI the hard way by getting hit by a pitch, tying the game. Winger brought in a run on a fielder's choice and Ragsdale singled to right to make it a 3-1 NSU lead.
 
"It was really big for us to answer and go back up pretty quick," Pickett said "In the middle innings I felt like we should have kept our foot on the gas and we let them hang around and they came back. They made it a tight game and we were able to add that one on late which was a big deal."
 
NSU picked up a run in the third on a Makenzie Chaffin knock to right but left two runners on at the end of the frame and then doing so again in the fifth.
 
St. Thomas cut the lead in half with three straight singles in the bottom of the fifth, chasing starter Maggie Darr from the game and bringing in Sage Hoover. She struck out the next two batters and proceeded to K eight over the final 2 2-3 of the game, including a rare four-strikeout inning in the bottom of the sixth.
 
After getting the first two batters swinging, a dropped third strike on another swing and miss plus an errant throw to first put a runner on second base. The Tommies got the RBI single they needed to make it a one-run game, but Hoover got the next batter to swing and miss for her fourth K of the inning.
 
The Lady Demons picked up a needed insurance run in the seventh with three straight hits of their own, the final a Lexie Roos base hit to center to score Keely DuBois. They left the bags loaded after a walk and a ground ball to third ended the inning.
 
Hoover finished off her NCAA-leading fourth save of the season with a quick seventh that included two more Ks to close the door.
 
"To see her respond and come back out and pitch the way she did and dominate the game at the end was great," Pickett said of Hoover's finish. "St. Thomas is a pretty good offensive team and we needed her to do that. Maggie grinded through the first five innings, so for us to be able to go to Sage to switch things up with a little different look was huge for us."
 
Darr (4-0) and Hoover combined for 16 strikeouts in the game and DuBois and Chaffin each added three hits a piece.