RUSTON – It has been two decades since Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech have met more than twice in one season on the baseball field.
 
That changes this weekend when the Demons conclude their run of four straight games against the longtime rival Bulldogs with three games at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park. All three games – at 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday – will air on ESPN+ with free streaming audio available through www.NSUDemons.com and the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices.
 
Northwestern State (5-12) began the stretch against the Bulldogs (13-5) with an 11-5 win Tuesday night in Natchitoches. Now, the Demons hit the road in the second half of a stretch where they play seven of eight games away from home.
 
"We've been in search of complementary baseball, and we've been in search of responses and responders," first-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "You saw two of those (Tuesday) night. That's the way you have to play against such an incredible baseball team."
 
Many times, teams that find a potential turning-point victory in a midweek game face someone different in the days following that moment. Instead, the Demons find themselves in a different position against the same team they just saw.
 
The one difference will be the location. In most seasons, Brown-Stroud Field plays as a pitcher's park while J.C. Love Field is much more hitter friendly.
 
While Northwestern State has played more than half of its first 17 games at home, its pitching staff has taken the mound in its share of stadiums that cater more toward offense – LSU's Alex Box Stadium for four games and Little Rock's Gary Hogan Field for three more.
 
In the three games at Little Rock, the Demons saw their relief corps take a step forward as Caleb Bunch, Aidan Newton, Alejandro Marquez, Josh Miller, Adam Alexis, John Sharhdar and Austin Anderson combined for 10 1-3 shutout innings of relief. Anderson added three more scoreless frames against Louisiana Tech on Tuesday to stretch the bullpen's scoreless streak to 15 innings before the Bulldogs tallied two runs in the seventh inning of that game.
 
All seven relievers who appeared against Little Rock are in their first year at the Division I level, growing in lockstep with a Demons' roster that features more than its share of newcomers.
 
"We continue to talk about learning," Bertrand said. "What a great opportunity it was for us to learn from one week to another against UL Lafayette. What a great experience it was for us to learn against a team like Little Rock in an offensive ballpark. When we talk about learning, about pulling value from every one of the opportunities we have, we mean it. We know the challenge. We know how good Louisiana Tech is. We're just going to keep chopping wood. Regardless of what happens, we're going to learn and get better."
 
Similarly, the Demon offense took a step forward in the first midweek win under Bertrand.
 
Northwestern State's 11 runs marked its first double-figure scoring output since a 13-6 win against Northern Illinois on Feb. 22. The 13 hits against Louisiana Tech nearly matched NSU's three-game total (16) at Little Rock.
 
"We just have to have faith in what we're doing – no doubt, complete trust in ourselves," said senior outfielder Daniel Young, who set career highs in hits (3), runs (3) and RBIs (2) in Tuesday's win. "When we do get punched in the mouth, keep firing back like we did (Tuesday), and we'll be OK."
 
Series Probables:
Friday: Northwestern State RHP Chase Prestwich (2-2, 7.08) at Louisiana Tech LHP Luke Nichols (2-0, 3.05)
Saturday: Northwestern State RHP Dawson Flowers (1-1, 6.06) at Louisiana Tech RHP Jacob Havern (1-1, 4.66)
Sunday: Northwestern State RHP Dylan Marionneaux (0-3, 4.70) at Louisiana Tech RHP Turner Swistak (2-0, 5.79)