Box Score SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Northwestern State baseball team did not walk a batter for the second straight game Saturday night.
 
That is the good news for the Demons. The not-so-good news is homestanding Incarnate Word reached double-figure hits for the second straight night, pushing their way to a 6-2 Southland Conference victory at Sullivan Field.
 
"We haven't walked a guy in two days, and we're 0-2," sixth-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. "I can't imagine that happens very often, especially in our league. You have to give credit to them. They've done a really good job swinging the bats. I thought Johnny (Harmon) had pretty good stuff. He commanded his secondary pitch, and they were on it. Gus (Collins) came in and, like Chase (Prestwich on Friday), did a really good job also. All four pitchers who have touched the mound have done a fine job. Sometimes you have to give credit where it's due. Give them credit for swinging the bat really well."
 
Wilson Ehrhardt gave UIW (14-13, 4-4) a lead six pitches into the game, connecting on a solo home run on a full-count pitch from Johnathan Harmon (4-3).
 
Harmon settled in across the next two innings, stranding a pair of runners in scoring position in the third to keep the Demons (15-15, 5-3) within striking distance.
 
For the second straight game, it was Bo Willis who struck a massive fourth-inning blow for the Demons, connecting on a fourth-inning homer for the second straight game, giving him a team-best six home runs on the season.
 
Willis' lined shot had barely landed when Bryce Holmes followed with his third home run of the season – a drive to straightaway center field – on the next pitch from UIW starter Michael Garza (3-3). Those two swings led to the only two runs Garza and reliever Steve Hayward allowed.
 
Garza scattered seven hits across 6 1-3 innings before Hayward recorded the final eight outs for his first save of the season.
 
The UIW offense picked up Garza following the Demons' first back-to-back home runs since Lenni Kunert and Carter Hankins connected on consecutive home runs on March 19, 2017, at Oklahoma State.
 
Alec Carr's leadoff triple started a run of four hits in five batters against Harmon in the fourth, including Taylor Darden's tie-breaking two-run single that put the Cardinals ahead to stay.
 
"They came with the three spot," Barbier said. "Again, it wasn't anything free. They just swung the bat really well. This field had a lot of hits in it today, especially with the wind blowing like it was and the turf being so hard. It's got a lot of hits in it, and they've done a really good job taking advantage."
 
Larson Fontenot had the Demons' lone multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 while Nixon Brannan led UIW's 14-hit attack with a 3-for-4, two-double, two-RBI performance.
 
The series concludes Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. Right-hander Drayton Brown (3-2, 3.38) will start for Northwestern State. UIW has not announced a starter for the finale.
 
Incarnate Word 6, Northwestern State 2
NSU       000 200 000 – 2 7 2
UIW       100 320 00x – 6 14 1
W – Michael Garza (3-3). L – Johnathan Harmon (4-3). S – Steve Hayward (1). 2B – UIW, Wilson Ehrhardt, Grant Smith, Nixon Brannan 2. 3B – UIW, Alec Carr. HR – NSU, Bo Willis (6), Bryce Holmes (3). UIW, Ehrhardt (3). Highlights: NSU, Larson Fontenot 2-3. UIW, Ehrhardt 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI; Smith 2-4, 2B; Hernan Yanez 2-4; Ridge Rogers 2-4, RBI; Brannan 3-4, 2 2Bs, 2 RBIs.
Records: Northwestern State 15-15, 5-3; Incarnate Word 14-13, 4-4.