NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State gave defending Southland Conference champion Southeastern everything it wanted and more in Friday's series-opening doubleheader.
 
Both games were decided in the seventh inning or later with just three runs separating the two teams at the end of the day. Good teams, and teams that know how to win, often times find ways to win games, and that is what Southeastern did.
 
A go-ahead two run home run from Maria Detillier in the top of the seventh gave the Lady Lions (25-8, 7-1) a 4-3 win in game one. After a sixth-inning rally from the Demons (3-26, 0-8) tied game two, a pair of infield singles in the eighth scored two SLU runs for a 7-5 win and series victory.
 
The doubleheader sweep gives Southeastern the Cypress Trophy for the fourth consecutive season.
 
"I'm proud of our fight," head coach Jenny Fuller said. "We hung in there, with one of the best teams in the conference and one of the best teams in the country really. We know how good they are and, you know, we're still trying to figure out what we are capable of, but I was proud of how they kept going and kept us in position to win both games."
 
Game One – Southeastern 4, NSU 3
 
The Demons took their first lead in a conference game in the bottom of the first, giving the Lady Lions a taste of their own medicine to do so.
 
With runners at the corners, a delayed steal of second from Brynn Daniel designed to bait a throw opened the door for Cameron Curtis to slide in safely at home to put NSU up 1-0 three batters into the game.
 
Southeastern provided a response two innings later to tie the game at one, where is stayed through four innings, with an RBI double to left.
 
Over the final three innings of the game the lead changed hands three times beginning with Southeastern's second RBI double of the game to put them up 2-1 in the fifth. Lady Lion starting pitcher Macie LaRue retired 12 batters in a row before a leadoff single from Sophia Livers in the sixth set the table to the second lead change in as many innings.
 
Livers and Curtis both reached to start the inning for NSU and found themselves both in scoring position following a sacrifice bunt. On the ninth pitch of the at bat, Aly Delafield hit a bouncing ball up the middle allowing both Livers and Curtis to score, and her to move to third on a throwing error, giving the Demons a late 3-2 lead.
 
The Lady Lions needed just two batters to regain the lead in the top of the seventh however with a leadoff single and Detillier's home run flipping the scoreboard back in SLU's favor.
 
Game Two – Southeastern 7, NSU 5 (8 innings)
 
Southeastern took the lead on a first-pitch two-run home run down the right field line in the top of the third inning from catcher Cydnee Schneider. But after two quick fly ball outs in the bottom of the inning, the Demons got one of those runs back.
 
An infield single from Sara Kate Booker and a double to right from DJ Lynch put a pair in scoring position. Perhaps the hottest bat in the Demon lineup, Delafield picked up her fourth hit of the day driving in Booker for her third RBI of the day.
 
Delafield finished 5-for-7 with three RBI and a double. Her one-out double in the fifth, her third hit of the game, put two in scoring position and gave her a second three-hit game in as many weekends.
 
"We've always thought that Aly was capable of doing what she did today," Fuller said. "She's just a player that she needed a little bit of confidence. Last weekend at McNeese, we wanted to give her some consecutive starts to see what she would do with it. She's kind of taking it and run with it and now you can't take her out of the line up."
 
The Demons did not add on after the Delafield single after loading the bases. Following Delafield double in the fifth, both runners were left stranded there as well. NSU left nine runners on base in the game.
 
The Lions put together their first crooked number of the day in the next half inning to stretch their lead back up to four. A pair of RBI singles and an RBI groundout from three straight hitters pushed the advantage back up to 5-1.
 
Northwestern put up its own crooked number in the sixth, however.
 
The first three batters of the inning all reached base, two via free passes as Savannah Coleman was hit by the first pitch she saw and Camryn Becnel drew a five-pitch walk. A third free base, another five-pitch walk to Livers, brought in the first run of the inning.
 
The second scored on a ground ball to first but the throw home for the potential force play was late allowing Cash Herber to slide in safely and pull the Demons back within a pair at 5-3.
 
Still with the bases loaded a not one out, Lynch provided the biggest hit of the day on a ringing double to left center field, her second of the game. Both Livers and Becnel scored easily on the play but a perfectly needed and executed relay from center field got Booker at home preventing the go-ahead run from scoring on the play.
 
Lynch was left standing at third two batters later after a strikeout and ground out to second.
 
Kaymie Chandler, who threw the first 7.0 innings of the game, gave the Demons a scoreless top half of the seventh exactly when they needed it to keep the game tied going to the bottom of the inning.
 
Brynn Daniel started the bottom of the inning with a walk, but never advance past first base and was the ninth and final runner left on base by the Demons in the game.
 
The Lions' first two batter reached in the eighth and both scored on balls that did not leave the infield from the next two batters – an infield single and groundout to first. The Demons were retired in order to end the game.
 
The teams close the three-game series on Saturday starting at 12 p.m.