NATCHITOCHES – For half of Tuesday's game against ULM, the Northwestern State baseball team had an eerie sense of déjà vu.
 
The Demons tallied a four-run first inning for the second straight game, starting fast against the visiting Warhawks, and overcame a sluggish offensive middle of the game to pull away for a 10-5 victory in the final mid-week matchup at Brown-Stroud Field this season.
 
"We had a similar feeling (to Sunday's game at McNeese)," sixth-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. "Three in the fifth and three in the seventh – I thought the seventh inning was the turning point. I thought Dawson (Flowers) was really good. Cam (Parikh) made a nice play. Bailyn (Sorensen) threw a guy out stealing. Daunte (Stuart) made a heck of a play that ended with a safe call, but still.
 
"Then CT (Cameron Taylor) comes in left on left and does the job. That's championship baseball. That's important moving forward and will help us moving forward this weekend."
 
After the Demons (24-24) ran ULM starter Cole Brady (0-1) from the game in a flurry of walks and hits in just 1-3 inning, NSU appeared like it was going to repeat Sunday's performance at McNeese in which it raced to a 4-0 lead after a half inning only to not score again.
 
Staked to a four-run lead, right-hander Ethan Francis (1-1) allowed two runs in three innings, minimizing the damage to one run in the second and third innings after a 1-2-3 first.
 
ULM (15-31-1) continued to chip away at the Demon lead against reliever Chase Prestwich, adding a fourth-inning run before NSU solved the Warhawk bullpen in the fifth.
 
Larson Fontenot was in the middle of all three Demon scoring innings, capping the four-run first with a two-run single and adding an RBI single in the fifth before a massive two-run home run to left center in the three-run NSU seventh.
 
Fontenot, a fifth-year senior playing what could be his final homestand as a Demon, finished 3-for-3 and tied a career high with five RBIs. He also took his 39^th career hit by pitch, moving him into a tie for third place on NSU's all-time list. His 19^th hit by pitch of the season also moved him into a third-place tie on the Demon single-season list.
 
Fontenot's two-run home run off Zach Shaw was his fifth of the season, extending his career high.
 
"We talked about how we need to extend leads, especially going into this weekend," Fontenot said. "It was good for us to see everyone grow and get better at extending the lead in crunch time.
 
"I'm seeing the ball very well right now. I'm glad I'm giving us a chance to score runs and win games. I can't control the hit by pitches, but the homers are coming out of nowhere I guess."
 
Fontenot's home run backed up a couple of pivotal innings in which Demon relievers shut down ULM threats to keep NSU in control.
 
With a 4-3 lead in the fifth, Prestwich stranded a runner on third before Taylor came in with runners on first and second and struck out left-handed hitting Austin Beech, the potential tying run, to end the seventh.
 
Fontenot and designated hitter Bo Willis
Fontenot and designated hitter Bo Willis were a combined 5-for-5 with seven RBIs and reached base in all eight of their plate appearances. Jake Haze added a pair of hits from the leadoff spot, including his second straight game-opening double, as the Demons notched a 10-hit performance.
 
NSU returns to action Thursday night when they host New Orleans in the opener of the final three-game Southland Conference series of the season. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
 
Northwestern State 10, ULM 5
ULM      011 101 001 – 5 9 2
NSU       400 030 30x – 10 10 1
W – Ethan Francis (1-1). L – Cole Brady (0-1). 2B – ULM, Mason Holt, Austin Beech, Colby Deaville, Michaelle Artzberger. NSU, Jake Haze, Bo Willis. HR – ULM, Grant Schulz (4). NSU, Larson Fontenot (5). Highlights: ULM, Beech 2-5, 2B, RBI; Deaville 2-4, 2B. NSU, Haze 2-4, 2B; Willis 2-2, 2B, 2 RBIs; Fontenot 3-3, HR, 5 RBIs.
Records: ULM 15-31-1; Northwestern State 24-24