NATCHITOCHES – On what could possibly be their final time taking the field at Northwestern State, a pair of NSU pitchers turned in some of the best work of their careers.
 
Ryleigh Denton and Kenzie Seely combined to hold UIW, one of the best hitting teams in the conference, scoreless for 12 1/3 consecutive innings as the Demons split Saturday's senior day doubleheader, falling 6-2 in game one and winning 1-0 in game two.
 
The Cardinals did all their damage on the day with two outs in the top of the second inning, scoring six runs, three unearned, on six hits.
 
Denton got the final out of the inning on a ground ball to first, the first of her nine ground outs in the game, retiring 15 of the next 16 batters she faced to finish the game. She allowed just one hit during that time.
 
Taking the ball in the second game, Seely continued the dominant performance for the Demons in the circle with strikeouts of the first two batters of the game in a 1-2-3 inning. Seely struck out six in the game, including two against the front runner for conference hitter of the year Victoria Altamirano.
 
Seely allowed just three hits in her third career shutout, and only one after the third inning to pick up her ninth victory of the season.
 
"Ryleigh threw 5 1/3 in about 48 pitches which is incredible," head coach Lacy Prejean said. "She was commanding the ball and attacking the zone, getting ground ball outs for us. And Kenzie did the exact same thing. She gave us an opportunity, got some momentum for us with some early strikeouts and just efficient and just so proud of both of them for what they did today."
 
The Demons took the lead in the bottom of the first inning of both games, using their aggressiveness on the base paths to manufacture both runs.
 
Bailie Ragsdale's infield single and steal of second put her in scoring position to start game one. After a wild pitch and a walk to Laney Roos put runners at the corners with two outs, the Demons forced the issue to create a run.
 
With Roos running on the pitch, the attempted throw down to second was wild allowing Ragsdale to score and send Roos to third on the error.
 
The lead only lasted until the top of the next half inning, as eight straight batters reached base, all with two outs in the inning, bringing in six Cardinal runs on six hits and one error.
 
Denton hit the first batter she faced after entering in the second inning, but got the next to ground out to first to begin her first stretch of eight straight batters retired in the game. UIW's only hit and only baserunner after the big second inning came on a one-out single in the fifth. Denton sat down the next eight in a row after that to finish the game.
 
Unfortunately for the Demons, the performance from UIW's Larissa Jacquez was just as strong as Denton's. Tristin Court ripped her third triple of the season down the right field line and came in to score on a wall-banging double from Ashlyn Walker two batters later.
 
The Demons did not have another hit or baserunner after Walker's double until a two-out walk to Taylor Williams in the top of the seventh, breaking a string of 13 straight batters retired by the Cardinal ace.
 
After Seely's strong first inning set the tone for game two, Williams immediately put herself in scoring position with a double down the line in left on the second pitch she saw. Ragsdale moved her to third on a sacrifice bunt and Court picked up her team-leading 32^nd RBI on a sacrifice fly to right giving NSU the 1-0 lead in the first for the second straight time.
 
The one run was all Seely needed on the day, working around a one-out hit and a walk in the second to maintain the edge, not allowing more than one base runner in an inning the rest of the game.
 
She stranded a runner at second after a one-out double in the third, and left the tying run at third after a two-out double in the sixth to preserve her third shutout of the season in her team-leading 12^th complete game, cementing it as one of the most memorable outing of her four-year career.
 
"This one is definitely the best," Seely said. "It's definitely number one. I wanted to go in and give it my all. Especially with the weather this weekend meaning this could be our last chance to play. Just wanted to go out there, play for my team and have everyone's back."
 
Seely threw the third shutout against UIW in conference play this season, holding them to fewer hits than either Southeastern or McNeese who are the only other teams to blank the Cardinals this year. The three hits Seely allowed is the second fewest in a game all season for UIW.
 
"To come out and have a performance like that, at your home field in possibly your last game, that's special," Prejean said. "Kenzie does things the right way all the time. She's a tremendous person. She's going to be an incredible young woman after she graduates from here. I'm so excited I got to coach her for her senior season and very proud of her."
 
NSU will play the final game of the 2024 season beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday, weather permitting.