NATCHITOCHES – There were plenty of big swings Tuesday night at Brown-Stroud Field, but the biggest one for the Northwestern State baseball team may have come from a group of pitchers.
 
In a game that was dominated by offense, it was the work of five Demon relievers that ensured Northwestern State completed a two-game season sweep of Grambling with a 16-8 midweek victory.
 
"Plenty of lessons we have learned today and can take from it," first-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "If you take out the fifth inning – that's not the way we're supposed to compete in the top half of the fifth and offensively we squandered an opportunity – I'm really proud of what we did and the lessons we took out of it. Responses all around.
 
"In the course of a season where wins are so hard to come by and every one of them is important – as tonight was – you need those guys and they show themselves at different parts of the season. Happy for all of those (bullpen) guys who had success. Now what can we take from what we did in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth (innings) and learn from it?"
 
Northwestern State (15-26) nearly squandered a fast start that included a two-run first inning against Grambling starter Charles Jackson (1-1) as the Tigers (16-21) squared things with a two-run second.
 
From there, Samuel Stephenson delivered the first big offensive swing of the night for the Demons, leading off the second inning by driving a ball that Grambling center fielder Martavius Thomas tried to field while falling down. Stephenson never stopped running and scored easily with Northwestern State's second home run in its past six games.
 
Stephenson finished the game 2-for-3 with a home run and a double and nearly had a second home run that was caught on the warning track near the left-field corner.
 
"As soon as I hit second, I looked up and saw (third base coach) Billy (Henley) swinging his arm around, and I was like, 'I might as well go,'" said Stephenson, whose last inside-the-park home run came in his junior season at Har-Ber High School in Springdale, Arkansas.
 
Balin Valentine gave the Demons some early breathing room, capping the three-run second inning with a two-run double – part of a career-best five-RBI night.
 
Given a second chance to guard a multi-run lead, freshman right-hander Kevin Robinson (3-1) responded with two shutout innings before the Demons blew the game open in the fourth.
 
Clay Jung's leadoff single began a four-batter, natural cycle for the Demons that Bo Willis capped with a two-run home run, his first long ball since March 15 at Louisiana Tech.
 
Willis added an RBI single in the eighth inning to put the finishing touches on a 3-for-5, three-RBI night.
 
"When you're going through times like this, the best thing you can do is keep moving forward, get in the box and keep swinging," Willis said. "I made the adjustments where they needed to be and tried not to overdo it with the swing. I feel a little more comfortable after working with Billy, working with Bert and working on my swing."
 
The eight-run fourth inning gave the Demons an 11-run lead before the Tigers sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the fifth, scoring six runs and threatening to mount a remarkable comeback.
 
Valentine, however, made a long running catch in foul territory to end the inning before Adam Alexis, Tyler Nichol, Will Reed and Tim O'Connor combined for four shutout innings of two-hit, eight-strikeout relief to give the Demons a win in their final home midweek game of the season.
 
Willis' single in the eighth followed Valentine's two-run seventh-inning single as the Demons gave their bullpen arms some insurance.
 
"We always try to pick each other up," Willis said. "We've had issues in different parts of the game whether it be the defense behind the guys coming out of the bullpen isn't good that day or if our hitting is off our pitchers pick us up. It's good to see when our pitchers are having tough luck on the mound that our hitters have their back and can give them some insurance runs."
 
The Demons return to action Friday when they host HCU in the opener of a three-game Southland Conference series. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
Northwestern State 16, Grambling 8
GSU      020 060 000 – 8 13 1
NSU     230 800 21x – 16 15 1
W – Kevin Robinson (3-1). L – Charles Jackson (1-1). 2B – GSU, Trevor Hatton. NSU, Balin Valentine, Daniel Burroway, Bo Willis, Samuel Stephenson. 3B – GSU, Hatton. NSU, Rocco Gump. HR – NSU, Willis (4), Stephenson (3). Highlights: GSU, Ashton Inman 2-5, RBI; Hatton 2-2, 2B, 3B, 2 RBIs; Julian Murphy 2-4, RBI; Jose Vargas 3-3, RBI. NSU, Valentine 3-6, 2B, 5 RBIs; Clay Jung 2-3, 2 RBIs; Burroway 2-5, 2B, RBI; Willis 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBIs; Stephenson 2-3, 2B, HR, RBI.
Records: Grambling 16-21; Northwestern State 15-26.