NATCHITOCHES – A tough start put the Northwestern State baseball team in an early hole in Thursday night's Southland Conference series opener at McNeese.
 
Coupled with some tough luck on hard-hit balls, the Demons were unable to dig their way out of that early deficit and fell 8-2 to the Cowboys at Joe Miller Ballpark.
 
"The story of the ball game was we got off to such an obviously bad start, and I don't think we handled the seventh inning in a way that we should have," first-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "We had our opportunity in the top half, and we walked away with no runs and absolutely no momentum. Then we hit the leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh to allow them to not only extend the lead but to grab momentum back.
 
"You have those turning points in the ball game – the early lack of pitch execution and the way in which our entire team handled the seventh inning – put our backs against the wall."
 
A flurry of two-out hits in the first inning allowed the Cowboys (13-10, 1-0) to jump a 3-0 lead as McNeese touched Northwestern State right-hander Aidan Newton (0-3) for four straight hits with two outs.
 
That run, which started with Conner Westenburg's RBI double, began two batters after Chase Keeton drew a one-out walk.
 
While the Cowboys took advantage of that and other free bases, the Demons (7-19, 1-3) were unable to capitalize on a limited number of walks from McNeese right-handers Cameron LeJeune (3-2) and Kanin Morrow.
 
LeJeune issued two walks in his 6 1-3 innings of two-run ball – neither of which hurt the junior pitcher.
 
After walking Samuel Stephenson with one out in the first inning, LeJeune induced an inning-ending double-play ball on the next pitch. He did not issue another walk until Reese Lipoma loaded the bases with a one-out, seventh-inning free pass.
 
Morrow relieved LeJeune after Lipoma's walk and escaped the jam with a strikeout and another hard-hit out – a Bo Willis line drive to center field.
 
The Cowboys then extended their lead with a seventh-inning rally that started with a leadoff hit batter who went to third on a perfectly executed hit and run and scored on a safety squeeze bunt.
 
"Of the runs that crossed home plate, two were walks, one was a hit by pitch and one was an error, so there were self-inflicted wounds," Bertrand said. "For the most part, not only did we get nine hits, but we were on the barrel. For whatever reason, we couldn't get them to fall or they made nice defensive plays. We continue to have the belief that we have everything we need.
 
"Now that we have seen what conference play is like, we have to be winners in the moments that decide the ball game. In the first three innings of pitch execution and in the total seventh inning, we weren't winners tonight."
 
Daniel Young tied a career high with three hits while Rocco Gump added two, including a two-out RBI single in the second inning.
 
The series continues at 2 p.m. Friday. Junior right-hander Chase Prestwich (2-3, 8.23) will start for Northwestern State against McNeese right-hander Zach Voss (0-3, 7.15).
 
McNeese 8, Northwestern State 2
NSU     010 010 000 – 2 9 0
McNeese         322 000 10x – 8 10 0
W – Cameron LeJeune (3-2). L – Aidan Newton (0-3). S – Kanin Morrow (2). 2B – NSU, Clay Jung, Hayden Knotts. McN, Conner Westenburg. HR – McN, Grant Mangrum (1). Highlights: NSU, Rocco Gump 2-4, RBI; Daniel Young 3-4. McN, Braden Duhon 2-4; Mangrum 2-4, HR, 2 RBIs.
Records: Northwestern State 7-19, 1-3; McNeese 13-10, 1-0.