BEAUMONT, Texas – Making adjustments will be the name of the game for Northwestern State as it enters the second weekend of Southland Conference action.
 
The Demons (11-16, 0-3) travel to Lamar (15-9, 3-0) for a three-game series beginning with Friday's doubleheader at 3 p.m. on ESPN+ with Saturday's finale set for 12 p.m.
 
Throughout the season and especially over the past handful of games the Demons have been hurt by the little things and some big things as well. An extra base here and there have cost them runs and leaving runners on base in prime scoring chances, especially early in the game, have also cost them just as dearly.
 
As they enter the second conference series with the Cardinals, first-year head coach Lacy Prejean is looking for those in-game changes to be made with more intensity to them.
 
"What I am really emphasizing going into this weekend is when we make adjustments, selling out on those adjustments," Prejean said. "Make a big adjustment, a stronger adjustment whatever it may be. And then from there finding a way to put the ball in play with less than two outs and runners on base. We have to have a few more players step up when they are put in those positions."
 
Senior third baseman Tristin Court has been one of the players delivering in those situations with regularity so far this season. She leads the team with a .346 batting average and 16 RBI. She added another of her conference-leading doubles on Tuesday at Louisiana Tech driving in NSU's lone run of the game.
 
On the season Court is hitting .464 with runners in scoring position, one of two players along with Taylor Williams (.429) batting over .400 in run-scoring opportunities.
 
"I just trust all the work that I've done in practice and outside of it," Court said of about her comfortability in the box. "And leaning into how our coaches prepare us and just try and go up there see good pitches and know that my teammates have my back."
 
The Demons have not lacked the opportunity with runners on base this season despite averaging 5.5 hits per game to this point in the season. NSU has drawn the second more walks in the conference (74) and have been hit by the most pitches (19) this year. The 162 total runners left on base this year by the Demons is the exact same number they have forced their opponents into stranding on the bases behind quality pitching and defense.
 
"We've had a lot of opportunities to score with the amount of people we've gotten on base," Prejean said. "And if you look at it the teams we've played have executed on their chances. They've taken advantage of the walk, of the runner in scoring position, of the extra base where we haven't."
 
Those free passes and seemingly minuscule things have proved costly for the Demons over the past five games. A two-out walk that many times is forgotten about when the final our gets recorded turn out to be the winning run in NSU's walk-off loss at Louisiana Tech on Tuesday night.
 
Limiting those extra opportunities against a Lamar team that recently won 12 out of 13 games, including a three-game sweep at Houston Christian, before dropping both games of a doubleheader this week at Baylor will be a primary focus for the Demons.
 
The Cardinals have two pitchers in the top five in the Southland in ERA this year, but only one ranks in the top 10 in opposing batting average. Emma Wardlow (5-2) leads the staff with a 1.66 ERA this year in eight starts, but batters are hitting .262 against her this year. She has only allowed 15 total run, 14 of them earned, in 59.0 innings of work.
 
Lamar has four players batting over .320 this year with sophomore centerfielder and leadoff batter Shenita Tucker leading the way at a .377 clip turning her majority singles into doubles with 20 stolen bases this year.
 
Tucker, the SLC leader in stolen bases, will matchup with the SLC leader in throwing runners out in NSU's Ashlyn Walker. She threw out her 10th base runner of the season, matching her total from all of last year, on Tuesday night. She is tied for second in the country in throwing out potential base stealers.
 
"I think we just need to have more trust in each other and trust the plan we have coming into this weekend," Court said. "If we know that our teammates have our back then the bats will come and just keep working that way."