Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MONROE – A third-inning home run derby sparked Northwestern State's largest come-from-behind victory in nearly 10 years, earning it a split on its final day of the Best of the Bayou Tournament.
 
After falling to Sam Houston 7-1 in the first game of the day and falling behind 6-0 through two innings of the second game against Syracuse, the Demons (8-9) got a nuclear sized spark from the top of their lineup to trigger the comeback.
 
In the span of four batters, Taylor Williams, Tristin Court and Ashlyn Walker all hit balls out of the park, with Court and Walker doing so in the span of three pitches, for a four-run inning propelling the Demons to an 11-8 win over the Orange. 
 
The six-run deficit was the largest overcome by NSU since 2015.
 
Game 1: Sam Houston 7, NSU 1
 
The Bearkats struck early and with a bang in the top of the first inning. Back-to-back extra base hits brought in the first two runs of the game just four batters into the game. The double and triple were two of the five total multi-base hits in the game, three of which bringing in five of their seven total runs in the game.
 
After the initial outburst NSU starting pitcher Maggie Darr settled into the game cruising through the next three innings without allowing any more runs to score.
 
The Demons got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third after the first six batters went down in order. Lexie Roos reached on an error to open the inning and pinch runner Bailie Ragsdale found her way to third following a steal and sacrifice bunt. Taylor Williams' bouncing single through the right side scored her easily but accounted for the only run of the game for the Demons.
 
NSU put a pair on in the bottom of the fourth but could not find the two-out hit it needed to cut into the lead any further.
 
Darr was one pitch from getting out of Sam Houston's first major scoring threat since the first after three of the first four batters reached base with one out. She got a key pop up to third for the second out but a two-out, two-strike triple cleared the bases making it a 5-1 game after five inning.
 
Sam Houston put two more on the board in the sixth after first two batters were retired but three straight reached base for a two-run single through the left side.
 
Demons put runners on in the bottom of the inning with a Tristin Court single and Cameron Curtis walk but were not able to make any more noise towards at a comeback.
 
Game 2: NSU 11, Syracuse 8
 
Three runs in each of the first two innings on five total hits from Syracuse staked it to an early 6-0 lead. 
 
After having just one baserunner in the first two innings the Demons got their second on base when Sophia Livers was hit by a 3-2 pitch. NSU got its first hit of the game three pitches later when Taylor Williams launched her second home run of the season out to right center for a quick two runs.
 
Two batters later Tristin Court pulled the second pitch she saw down the line in left for her second long ball of the season. Ashlyn Walker made it a 6-4 game on the next pitch when she hit her second shot of the season.
 
"Our hitters have been working really hard," head coach Lacy Prejean said. "Taylor's been hitting the ball really well, Tristin's been just missing some pitches and Ash is strong and finally got something she could handle. I was proud of all three of them but that definitely sparked us and gave us some life in the dugout and on the field."
 
Ryleigh Denton retired the Orange in order on seven pitches in the bottom of the inning and the comeback was officially on for the Demons.
 
Livers brought in a run on a ground out in the top of the fourth cutting the lead down to one at 6-5. A two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the inning pushed the Syracuse lead back to three but a scoreless fifth, sixth and seventh from Denton and Kenzie Seely, who earned her first save of the year, stopped any more runs from coming across.
 
"Ryliegh did a phenomenal job just getting outs one at a time," Prejean said. "That allowed us to fight back and that's exactly what we did. She pitched a great game when she was out there."
 
Two walks and a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third in the fifth for NSU. After her two-run long ball to start the comeback in the third, Williams drove in two more of her career-high five RBIs on a single through the right side. Two more Demon walks loaded the bases and Walker picked her second RBI of the day when she was hit by a pitch to tie the game at eight.
 
Perhaps the most clutch hit of the eight in the game for the Demons came from Aly Delafield. The freshman lined a single into right on a 2-2 count to score two runs, giving NSU its first lead of the game at 10-8. The RBIs from Delafield's bat were two of the five total with two outs in the game for NSU.
 
"We had so many different people that contributed to this game," Prejean said. "Whether it be a defensive play, moving the runner or scoring on a ground ball everybody I feel like contributed in some kind of way. We got some clutch two-out RBIs and as the game went along they played smart, made some great plays and it was definitely a fun game to be a part of."
 
Williams collected her fifth RBI of the day on an infield single in the seventh as she finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a home run and five driven in. Both Walker and Delafield had two RBI in the game and Ragsdale matched her career high with three runs scored.