NATCHITOCHES – Trent Hillen's first complete-game shutout of his career led to another first for Northwestern State's junior right-handed pitcher.
 
Hillen tossed a four-hit shutout Sunday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to help the Demons clinch the series. That performance landed Hillen his first career Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week award as announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.
 
A Morgan City native, Hillen tossed the first complete-game shutout by a Demon pitcher in more than two years and the first in Southland Conference play for a Demon in nearly six years.
 
Hillen threw 70 strikes in his 100 pitches and allowed only two Islanders to reach scoring position. One of those came in the first at-bat of the day on a bad-hop double. Following that, Hillen did not permit another runner to reach scoring position until there were two outs in the seventh inning.
 
Prior to Hillen's gem, the most recent shutout by a Demon pitcher came when Cal Carver blanked Alabama A&M on March 10, 2023, while the last Northwestern pitcher to shut out a conference opponent was Nathan Jones at Stephen F. Austin on April 27, 2019.
 
He becomes the first Demon pitcher to earn the league's weekly honor since Chase Prestwich did so on April 3, 2023.
 
Hillen and the Demons return to action Tuesday at Grambling. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.