HAMMOND – In both games of Friday's doubleheader Northwestern State had more hits than its opponent, the eighth best hitting team in the country.
 
But it was a handful of mistakes by the Demons in both games that opened the door for Southeastern to come away with a pair of win 5-4 and 5-1, winning the rivalries Cypress Trophy for the third straight season.
 
Game 1: Southeastern 5, NSU 4
 
The Demons (14-25, 2-12) had the first run-scoring chance of the game thanks to a 1-out double from Taylor Williams, the first of her three hits in the game, in the top of the first. Laney Roos walked two batters later to put a pair on with two outs but the timely hit did not come for the Demons.
 
Williams and Roos accounted for the bulk of NSU's offense through the first five innings of the game. Roos singled to right in her second at-bat in the fourth inning serving as just the third baserunner of the game for NSU, with the second hit of the game.
 
A pair of groundouts and a foul out left Roos standing at second to end the inning but with the Demons only trailing 2-0.
 
NSU starter Kenzie Seely kept one of the best hitting teams in the county in check throughout the game, holding them to just five hits, the second fewest in a conference game this season.
 
But as good teams do, the Lions made the most of their hits and did so in a timely manner. A two-out triple down the right field line in the second scored the first two runs of the game and a two-run single up the middle that just slipped under the glove of Seely scored two more, also with two outs. All five of Southeastern's runs in the game came with two outs and their only two hits with two outs brought in four runs.
 
Williams' third hit of the game led to NSU's first run in the top of the sixth. A leadoff triple to dead center field put her at third base and allowed her to score on an error at third as the first three batters of the inning reached base for the Demons.
 
Roos picked up her second hit of the game on a single and Ashlyn Walker extended her career-long hitting streak to nine games with a base hit to load the bases with one out. The Lions were able to escape the jam though with a shallow fly out to center and a strikeout after an 11-pitch at bat from Kat Marshall.
 
NSU got the leadoff batter to third to start the inning in the seventh as well when Mia Liscano reached on a bunt single, advancing to third on a throwing error. The Demons followed with three straight hits, including a two-run triple to right center from Tristin Court that brought the Demons within a run and put the tying run at third with no outs.
 
"They made a pitching change and we took advantage of it and I was proud of the fight we showed there late in the game," head coach Lacy Prejean said. "Our defense was solid and our offense caught up at the end, we just didn't have enough pitching to beat one of the best teams in the conference."
 
But as quickly as the late-inning rally started it was snuffed out by the Lions. Court was thrown out at home trying to score on a soft ground ball to first and the game ended on a 6-3 double play on the very next pitch.
 
Game 2: SLU 5, NSU 1
 
NSU fell behind early in the second game after an uncharacteristic string of miscues in the field led to four costly runs.
 
The Lions got the first three batters of the second inning on base without the benefit of a hit, walk or hit batter after a pair of errors loaded the bases with no outs. A fly ball to Cameron Curtis in left scored the first run of the game but Curtis was able to get two outs on the play firing a strike to third to get the runner attempting to advance.
 
A bunt single by the next batter, and subsequent second throwing error and third overall error in the inning, allowed the second run to score. The Lions added two more on a triple and steal of home after walk to score four unearned runs in the inning to take the 4-0 lead.
 
"It really was the tale of defense," Prejean said. "It was not pretty and disappointed in that because we are a better, more defensively sound team than we showed early in that second game. We made some very uncharacteristic errors."
 
The defense was able to settle down slightly following the inning, committing one more error in the third and another in the sixth but neither of those led to any more runs thanks to the work of starter Maggie Darr and reliever Ryleigh Denton.
 
Darr threw the first 4.0 inning of the game allowing just four hits and only one earned run, that coming on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Denton finished the game facing seven batters in the final two innings for a pair of scoreless and hitless frames.
 
It was the third start in the past three weeks where Darr surrendered one of fewer earned runs in the game but was saddled with a loss.
 
NSU had runners reach back with one or fewer outs in the third, fourth and sixth inning, twice in scoring position, but were unable to breakthrough against Lion ace Cera Blanchard.
 
The lone run of the game for the Demons came in the top of the seventh after a leadoff triple from Kennedy Reynolds put her in scoring position. In her final opportunity of the game, Ashlyn Walker extended her hitting streak to double digits with an RBI single to left to score the run from third. A Southeastern error put another runner on base, still with no outs, but three outs on the next eight pitches ended the game and any thoughts of another late-inning rally.
 
"Proud of how at the end of both games that we got runners on and put something together," Prejean said. "Good teams take advantage of your mistakes and Southeastern is a good team and we're not there yet. We're going to get there but it takes focus and consistency in all areas.
 
The Demons and Lions finish the three-game series with a 12 p.m. first pitch on Saturday afternoon.