LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – The Northwestern State baseball team will triple the number of true road games it has played this season this weekend.
 
The Demons head to Little Rock for Saturday's 1 p.m. doubleheader that will open a three-game series against the Trojans (7-6), who are coached by former Northwestern State assistant coach Chris Curry. All three games of the series will air on ESPN+ while free streaming audio of Saturday's doubleheader will be available through www.NSUDemons.com and the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices.
 
The series will conclude with a 1 p.m. Sunday finale.


In facing their first extended stretch of true road games – Northwestern State played four neutral-site games in Baton Rouge from Feb. 22-24 – the Demons (4-9) head to Gary Hogan Field, which plays much differently than NSU's home, Brown-Stroud Field.
 
"We keep talking about that – we want to learn from every one of the experiences," first-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "We want to welcome the challenges that come. Chris and his team, they all bring about challenge and opportunity. They all bring about learning experiences, which we are really, really excited about. It's always a good time to go play against people you respect, to play against people who play the game at a high level, to play against people you consider yourself to be friends with or there is a relationship there. It has the makings of everything we continue to say we want to be about.
 
"We are going to play a quality opponent at a stadium that is more offensive than the B-Stro. It's an offensive team. Look at all the things we can learn and take from it."
 
During its recently completed four-game homestand, Northwestern State (4-9) made significant strides on the mound. Northwestern State pitchers surrendered 16 total runs in the four games while holding Troy – a team that entered this past weekend's series hitting .353 – to a season-low three hits in the middle game of that set.
 
Keying that performance were a pair of quality starts from junior right-hander Chase Prestwich and senior right-hander Dawson Flowers – the two pitchers who will start Saturday's doubleheader.
 
Flowers, making just his third career start, held the Trojans to two hits and one earned run in a career-long six innings. Prestwich struck out a career-high 10 across 6 2-3 innings of a tone-setting Friday night start.
 
"The thing about Dawson is the same thing we looked for with (Wednesday night's starter) Kevin Robinson," Bertrand said. "Dawson is a grizzled veteran who will do anything to help the Demons out. If it's a start, he'll start. If it's working out of the bullpen, he'll do that. He's hungry and he wants the ball in his hands. He welcomes competition. He's a Demon through and through. We have no problem giving him the ball.
 
"He's learning how to be a starter. Chase is learning how to be the Friday night starter. We all know what he's capable of, and we've seen it in his last two starts."
 
The third piece of the NSU rotation – freshman right-hander Dylan Marionneaux – is getting his own baptism by fire. Marionneaux has turned in two solid starts at the back end of the rotation the past two weeks, going a career-long five-plus innings against Troy this past Saturday.
 
A lack of run support has hurt Marionneaux's chances to find his first win as a Demon.
 
After starting the season averaging 10 runs in the first four games, the NSU offense has cooled, experiencing the first of a 56-game season's ebbs and flows.
 
"We're on the right track," Bertrand said. "People may get tired of hearing it coming from my mouth, but we need experience and continue to play together. We need the newness of everything to come together, and we get to do it against quality opponents with quality human beings in our dugout and locker room. We're not deterred by anything that has taken place. We are encouraged by the learning and growing we've done to this point."
 
Series Probables
Saturday, Game 1: Northwestern State RHP Chase Prestwich (2-1, 6.00) at Little Rock RHP Jackson Wells (0-1, 7.24)
Saturday, Game 2: Northwestern State RHP Dawson Flowers (1-0, 3.60) at Little Rock RHP Hoss Brewer (0-2, 5.52)
Sunday: Northwestern State RHP Dylan Marionneaux (0-2, 3.00) at Little Rock LHP Thomas Kuykendoll (1-0, 5.91)