GRAMBLING – The Northwestern State baseball team starts the second half of the 2024 season with a final regularly scheduled happening.
 
The Demons, after taking two of three games at McNeese this past weekend, are set to play their final five-game week of the season, starting with a 6 p.m. Tuesday matchup at Grambling ahead of a 6 p.m. Wednesday home game against ULM. The Demons' second game with the Warhawks will air on ESPN+ while free streaming audio of Tuesday's game at Grambling will be available through www.NSUDemons.com and the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free for Apple and Android devices.
 
"We know what a five-game week looks like," first-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "We know what it does to your body. Anytime you get a chance to play, you get a chance to improve, a chance to learn and a chance to grow. We're really excited about everything that comes with it. Regardless of the results, we get 18 innings of baseball where we can learn and use what we learn this weekend in Southland Conference play, which is what we say we want to be about."
 
Northwestern State (9-19) has gone through one previous double midweek set this year, doing so in inverse order.
 
The Demons started the Feb. 27-28 back-to-back games against ULM and UL Lafayette at home before hitting the road. This time, Northwestern State eyes a three-game road winning streak before coming home for a rematch with the Warhawks, who won the first of three meetings between the teams this year, 9-2, more than a month ago in Natchitoches.
 
This time, the Demons will face an unfamiliar team first.
 
Northwestern State and Grambling (10-15) have not met since the 2022 season when the Demons swept a home-and-home series. Much like the majority of the Demons' non-conference opponents, the Tigers bring a potentially explosive offense to the plate.
 
The Tigers average 6.8 runs per game and are coming off a weekend series at Texas Southern in which Grambling won two of three games and scored 13 runs in all three contests.
 
"One thing that sticks out is the runs scored," Bertrand said. "When you look at their box scores and when you look at how their schedule has played out, they have played some games in which there are some big numbers on the board. They put the bat on the baseball. They have a very athletic lineup. They play hard and play fast. They are a very attacking offense. How do we combat that?
 
"The guys we throw on the mound have to have the ability to hold runners. They have to field their position. We have to play clean defense. We're going to have to field it clean, secure it and be accurate with the baseball. You're going to have to defend and pitch to a very explosive, athletic lineup."
 
Northwestern State will start right-hander Kevin Robinson (0-1, 3.94) against the Tigers and will see how things play out following him before determining who to start in the second meeting of the season with the Warhawks (14-14).
 
ULM took the first meeting between the teams in the second full week of the season. The second of the three matchups – the Demons travel to Monroe for an April 9 game – comes with different settings for both.
 
"We say it about our team, but our opponents also have had 28 games to lean and to grow," Bertrand said. "They are in the thick of Sun Belt Conference play, so they may do some things that are more of a mid-week vs. a weekend thing. You don't have as much of that in Week 1 or 2 of the season. They'll be a very, very different but more than capable team. They just beat the No. 19-ranked team (Coastal Carolina) Thursday night in Monroe. They are a very capable team that has its share of battle scars. We're looking forward to the competition."
 
Weekday Probables
Tuesday: Northwestern State RHP Kevin Robinson (0-1, 3.94) at Grambling RHP Carlos Pegeuro (1-5, 10.80)
Wednesday: ULM TBA at Northwestern State TBA