NATCHITOCHES – Many times, midweek baseball game are about opportunities for players to show off what their behind-the-scenes work has produced.
 
That was on display Tuesday night in Northwestern State's 14-0, seven-inning run-rule win against visiting LSU-Alexandria at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
From sophomore catcher JD DiPrima homering in his first career start to redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher J.C. Acosta closing the game with a scoreless seventh inning in his collegiate debut, there were plenty of Demons (14-23) who delivered when given the chance.
 
"That is a good baseball team, and we were able to catch them on a night where we took advantage of some extenuating circumstances," first-year head coach Chris Bertrand said "With that being said, that's the proudest we can be of the ballclub for doing so. We talked about the lessons we could learn from playing the game. After every inning in which we scored, we grabbed a zero. That's a lesson learned. We got a lead early, and we went back and extended it. That's a lesson learned."
 
For at least a night, the Demons learned they could lean on more than just their everyday players and their frontline pitchers.
 
Freshman right-hander Kevin Robinson (2-1) continued to excel in his midweek starting role, scattering four hits in a designated short start of three innings. Armed with a 5-0 lead after two innings, Robinson escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third by inducing an inning-ending double-play ball.
 
Two innings later, DiPrima opened a four-run fourth inning with his first career hit – an opposite-field solo home run – in just the third plate appearance of his NSU career.
 
"I tried to keep my nerves down a little bit," said DiPrima, whose lone plate appearance before Tuesday night was a sacrifice bunt at McNeese on March 30. "The first AB I was out in front of everything, so I switched up the batting gloves, worked on staying back a little longer and got an outside pitch out in front and got to watch it fly. That was pretty cool."
 
Northwestern State got to see its share of "pretty cool" moments throughout Tuesday night's game.
 
Freshman right-hander Cade Dauzat followed Robinson and tossed a perfect fourth inning in his first appearance since Feb. 18 against Southern Illinois. That began a run of three straight perfect innings from the Demon bullpen before Josh Myers singled to start the seventh against Acosta.
 
A Teurlings Catholic product, Acosta rebounded with a strikeout and a 3-6-1 double-play ball to end the game and give the Demons their first shutout of the year and first since blanking UIW on April 23, 2023. Acosta's entrance was met with a resounding response from his teammates.
 
"When you say you want to build the program on family values and when you preach the things we talk about off the baseball field – to see the fruits of it for those guys tonight – but to see our whole dugout believes in that message and in that kind of baseball is really, really cool," Bertrand said. "I'm proud of those individuals, because it's a lesson learned. Maybe we can use those guys a little bit more moving forward. The way in which our team continues to build each other up and pick each other up, never flinch, and fight and answer every challenge I lay before them is really cool."
 
The Demons did get their share of production from their regular starters.
 
Third baseman Rocco Gump went 2-for-4 with a career-high five RBIs while left fielder Balin Valentine continued his RBI tear, connecting on his second grand slam in the past three games and the Demons' fourth of the year.
 
Valentine's shot over the left-field wall with two outs in the second inning gave the Demons' a 5-0 lead and came after he collected an inside-the-park grand slam at Nicholls on Saturday.
 
"I've just been trying to keep a clear mind, and it helps when your teammates get on base and fill up the bags for you," said Valentine, who has driven in 13 runs in his previous four games. "From there, it's just executing a plan."
 
Valentine, Gump and Reese Lipoma (2-for-2) all had two hits for Northwestern State, which drew a season-high 12 walks at the plate. Lipoma's two hits, which included a leadoff double to start the game, extended his hitting streak to a career-long 15 games.  
 
The Demons return to action Friday when they open a three-game Southland Conference series at UIW. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. in San Antonio.
 
Northwestern State 14, LSU-Alexandria 0, 7 innings
LSUA   000 000 0 – 0 5 1
NSU     140 450 x – 14 9 0
W – Kevin Robinson (2-1). L – Dominic Thibodeaux. 2B – LSUA, Zach Mengarelli. NSU, Reese Lipoma. 3B – NSU, Rocco Gump. HR – NSU, Balin Valentine (5), JD DiPrima (1). Highlights: LSUA, Josh Myers 2-3. NSU, Lipoma 2-2; Valentine 2-4, HR, 4 RBIs; Gump 2-4, 3B, 5 RBIs.
Records: LSU-Alexandria 17-18; Northwestern State 14-23.