NATCHITOCHES – A run-rule win and a pitcher's duel loss made for an exciting and frustrating Friday for Northwestern State as it split the first two games of its series with visiting HCU.
 
The Lady Demons (17-15, 4-4) sprinted to an 8-0 win in five innings behind four extra-base hits to start the day before five shutout innings from both pitchers in the second game made for some late drama in a 2-1 HCU win to split the day.
 
"I was really proud of the girls for coming out in game one, taking the fight to them, scoring early and continuing to score," head coach Donald Pickett said. "We were able to build that momentum through the whole game but just couldn't keep it going into the second. They (HCU) were able to get some runs late and we just didn't make the plays when we needed to."
 
NSU 8, HCU 0 (5 innings)
 
Two was the magic number for the Lady Demons in the opener against the Huskies, scoring two runs in each of their four offensive innings thanks to four two-baggers in the game.
 
NSU saw the leadoff batter reach base in each of the first three innings and saw that runner come into score in each of those innings. Bailie Ragsdale drew a walk in her first trip to the plate and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Ragsdale trotted home on a line drive double off the bat of Keely Dubois to left center to give the Demons the 1-0 lead.
 
Kat Marshall placed a ball in the left field corner five pitches later trading places with Dubois and the Demons had their first two-run inning of the game.
 
NSU's first three hits of the game went for two bases as Tristin Court doubled to start the second, coming in to score on an Ashlyn Walker base hit two batters later, the first non-double of the game for the Demons. Three walks in a row later, Dubois picked up her second RBI of the game on a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded making it a 4-0 game.
 
Both Demon runs in the third inning came in on the same play, the fourth and final double of the game off the bat of Ragsdale who was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
 
After scoring runs on back-to-back doubles in the first inning, they scored on back-to-back errors in the fourth inning. An error at first allowed Vivica Hernandez to score on an ground ball off the bat of Makenzie Chaffin and an error at second on a grounder from Laney Roos brought in the eventual winning run in NSU's fifth run-rule win of the season.
 
The first three batters in the NSU lineup reached base seven times in nine plate appearances, making just one out in the game. Dubois and Marshall both finished the game with a pair of hits, a run scores and drove in three runs between them.
 
HCU 2, NSU 1
 
The first five innings of the second game was a clinic in pitching and defense from both teams.
 
Kenzie Seely made her second straight stellar start in conference play after a complete game, near shutout a week ago against Nicholls. The junior threw the first five innings of the game without allowing a hit to the Huskies.
 
HCU managed just three total baserunners during that time, with two coming on a rare control blip from Seely when she walked two straight batters in second inning. She painted the inside quarter to get the next batter looking to end the inning and retired nine straight after the leadoff batter in the third reached on an error.
 
Seely unfortunately was unable to get the run support she needed thanks to an equally as impressive performance on the other side from HCU's Lyndie Swanson.
 
She allowed just four baserunners through the first five innings of the game, two of them being Taylor Williams who singled off her in the bottom of the first and drew a two-out walk in the third. A Tristin Court single to left in the second was the only other hit for the Demons until the sixth inning.
 
The Huskies were finally able to get to Seely in the sixth, getting two hits from the first three batters to put runners at second and third with one out. Two walks later HCU got its first run of the day after being shutout for 10 straight innings with a bases loaded walk.
 
Seely escaped any more damage with a swing-and-miss strikeout and soft grounder to second to keep it a one-run game.
 
"She did a great job and was really dominant out there," Pickett said. "She put a couple on but other than that was really dominant, but they were able to piece something together that third time through the lineup late in the game."
 
The Demons found an answer to Swanson in the bottom of the inning. With Ragsdale on second after a leadoff single and Williams sac bunt, Dubois ripped her second double of the day to left center to score Ragsdale easily and tie the game at one.
 
There would be no second run this time though as a pair of fly balls to left stranded the go-ahead run at second in the way of pinch runner Camryn Ford.
 
Without sending the ball out of the infield, the Huskies were able to scratch across an answering run in the top of the seventh, narrowly beating out the throw to first with two gone in the inning that allowed the run to score.
 
NSU put together two-out rally, getting the tying run to third after two straight walks that put Nani Winger on third. Ragsdale was just edged out on the throw to first in her attempt to beat out an infield single, ending the game in the 2-1 final.
 
It was the top three batters in the lineup that did the most damage once again, as Ragsdale, Williams and Dubois accounted for three of the NSU's four hits in the game with Ragsdale scoring the only run.
 
The rubber game of the series begins at 12 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.