NATCHITOCHES – A pair of Northwestern State baseball players have earned spots on the preseason All-Southland Conference first team.
 
Junior left-handed pitcher Cal Carver and sophomore second baseman Daunte Stuart earned first-team recognition based off their performances in the 2021 season.
 
Stuart, a product of The Woodlands, Texas, was a second-team postseason all-conference selection after leading Northwestern State in home runs (7) and RBIs (30) while also pacing the Southland in walks (44).
 
Carver earned third-team honors after a sophomore season in which the San Antonio, Texas, product went 6-5 with a 3.19 ERA and a team-leading three complete games. Carver struck out 77 in 84 2-3 innings and was part of NSU's lone shutout of the season.
 
This is the first preseason honor for both Stuart and Carver, a pair that makes up half of NSU's preseason honorees.
 
In addition to their first-team selections, the Demons placed a pair of pitchers on the second team.
 
Senior right-hander Donovan Ohnoutka was named to the team by a vote of the league coaches after a season in which he set career highs in appearances (16), innings (50 2-3) and strikeouts (40). Ohnoutka began the 2021 season in the bullpen and ended it as part of the weekend rotation.
 
Sophomore right-hander Drayton Brown rounds out the Demons' quartet of all-conference honorees.
 
Brown enjoyed a standout freshman season, saving six games and pitching to a 1.96 ERA. The six saves place the Nacogdoches, Texas, native in a tie for 11^th place in program history in career saves.
 
The Demons open their 2022 season by hosting former Southland Conference rival Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at Brown-Stroud Field.