LAKE CHARLES – Nearly halfway through the season, the Northwestern State baseball team has some new designations as it prepares for its first Southland Conference road trip of the season.
 
The Demons play the first of their four road conference series at McNeese, starting with a 6 p.m. matchup Thursday at Joe Miller Ballpark. The series also includes 2 p.m. matchups Friday and Saturday. Free streaming audio of all three games will be available through www.NSUDemons.com and the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices.
 
"No one's a freshman anymore, no one's a sophomore," first-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "That has now been put behind us. We've been through some trials and tribulations, and we've learned from them. We're going to be the beast team we can be moving forward. Every time they say, 'Play ball,' we are going to put our fists up to fight, and we will lean on the veterans to help us navigate through that fight."
 
As Northwestern State (7-18, 1-2) prepares to play at McNeese (12-10, 0-0) for a third straight season – the Cowboys hosted the 2023 Southland Conference Tournament – it does so looking for their first three-game win streak of the season.
 
The Demons held on for back-to-back wins against Southeastern and Louisiana Christian on the back end of a four-game homestand that included the first Southland Conference win of Bertrand's NSU career.
 
While the Demon roster is filled with players in their first seasons at the Division I level, it has several veterans who Bertrand and his staff can lean on as the first road series of conference play arrives.
 
In addition to right-handed pitchers Chase Prestwich and Dawson Flowers – who will start the second and third games of the series, respectively – the Northwestern State lineup features a pair of cornerstones in senior catcher Bo Willis and fourth-year junior center fielder Reese Lipoma.
 
Willis paces the Demons in RBIs (22) while Lipoma has produced six hits in his past two games. Willis in particular has enjoyed hitting at Joe Miller Ballpark.
 
In six starts across the past two seasons, Willis has batted .435 with two doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs in the park. Eight of those RBIs have come in four games against McNeese with Willis adding one RBI each in SLC Tournament games against UIW and New Orleans.
 
"We've talked about using every bit of information, whether it comes from the coaches or from players," Bertrand said. "No matter how we garner it, we have the ability to use it. We appreciate so much about Bo. Reese is another veteran who played in that ballpark. As we get in there and prepare, those guys are going to share some value, share some information that hopefully helps us find a competitive advantage – even one small nugget of a competitive advantage. We've talked all along about how much we appreciate that they're playing well, but what Bo Willis and Reese do for our team overall – whether that's in information sharing or setting the tone or carrying the ball club."
 
That includes the first 24 games of the season that took the Demons to several parks that play similar to Joe Miller Ballpark, which has a reputation as one of the more offense-friendly venues in the Southland.
 
"We have played in offensive ballparks the first part of our schedule," Bertrand said. "We have the experience of a Southland Conference series under our belt, playing in what we felt were three competitive, closely contested ballgames. We'll use those battle scars as we go forward against a tremendous baseball team coached by a tremendous baseball coach (Justin Hill) who runs an unbelievable program.
 
"They have the experience of being at the top of the standings and playing in regionals and all the things Justin has built. We have to figure out a way to use all of our experiences to go and have a game plan and an attack plan and execute those things."
 
Series Probables
Thursday: Northwestern State RHP Aidan Newton (0-2, 5.31) at McNeese RHP Cameron Lejeune (2-2, 4.12)
Friday: Northwestern State RHP Chase Prestwich (2-3, 8.23) at McNeese RHP Zach Voss (0-3, 7.15)
Saturday: Northwestern State RHP Dawson Flowers (1-1, 6.04) at McNeese LHP Alexis Gravel (0-1, 4.29)