NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State has seen all aspects of the game click at one point or another throughout the season.
 
When it faces the defending back-to-back-to-back Southland Conference champions in a three game home series beginning on Thursday night, it looks to have all three phases click together.
 
The Demons (14-20, 2-7) host McNeese in the second home conference weekend of the season beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday night at the Demon Diamond. Friday's doubleheader, and final two games of the weekend, begins at 1 p.m. All games will air live on ESPN+.
 
Tickets for the series are available by visiting www.nsutickets.com or may be purchased when gates open an hour prior to first pitch.
 
"We didn't execute in any of the phases of the game on Sunday," head coach Lacy Prejean said about this past weekend's series finale with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. "When you don't execute, that's what's going to happen, you're going to get a loss. We didn't get any breaks, but we didn't create any opportunities either. We have to regroup this week and come out ready for a tough home series on a short week."
 
A costly error led to three unearned runs in the finale, one of seven uncharacteristic miscues during the week for NSU's defense that was fielding at a .970 rate, among the highest in the conference, through the first six weeks of the season. 
 
Nine of the 14 runs scored on the week were unearned but came in bunches for the Islanders who had an inning in each of the three games where they scored three or more runs. Outside of those three innings, Corpus only managed to bring in two runs, only one of those earned, in the 16 other innings in which they batted.
 
Maggie Darr allowed just one earned run in two starts and three appearances against Corpus for a 0.58 ERA while holding Islanders to a .191 batting average. She picked up a three-inning save in the second game of the double header on Saturday but took two tough losses in her other two outings despite the impressive work on the weekend.
 
"Our pitching overall this year has done enough to keep us in games," Prejean said. "We just haven't done enough offensively to create the momentum. It takes all three phases of the game to win. They will continue to give us opportunities and eventually we will be able to capitalize on it."
 
The Demons hit .267 for the week with 27 total hits but managed just 11 total runs, five of those coming in the big first-inning outburst to start the second game of the series.
 
All the pieces have worked at one time or another this season for NSU as it looks to have them all come together against one of the best teams in the Southland.
 
McNeese is coming off a 3-2 midweek road win at South Alabama and a three-game sweep of UIW this past weekend in conference action. They sit in the top three in the conference in 13 different team categories, eight of them on the offensive side, with just the seventh highest team batting average this season.
 
McNeese comes into the series hitting .260 as a squad, with the Demons ranked just below them with a .244 average, and only six more total hits than NSU.
 
Sophomore Corine Poncho has done the most damage of any Cowgirl hitter this year with a conference-leading 11 home runs and team-best 20 RBI and .431 on-base percentage. Of her 26 total hits this year, 14 of them have gone for extra bases.
 
While Poncho has come through offensively for the Cowgirls throughout the season, the Demons will look for a similar clutch gene to show in their lineup.
 
"We're going to need some toughness and some people to step up," Prejean said. "Some different people to step up that is. It has felt like it has been Tristin (Court) or Maggie (Darr), and I'm so proud of them for doing that, but we're going to need some other players to come through when they get the chance. If we can get that to happen, we'll put ourselves in the best chance to win and have a successful weekend."