NATCHITOCHES – Too many crooked number innings proved too much for Northwestern State to overcome in a pair of losses on opening day of the Southland Conference schedule Friday afternoon.
 
The Demons (3-19, 0-2) surrenders multiple runs in an inning five different times across two games, and while they scored in five different as well, it was not enough to keep pace HCU in an 8-3 loss in game one and 7-5 defeat in game two.
 
"I thought we competed well in the second game and the only thing is we scored a little too late," head coach Jenny Fuller said. "If we could put pressure on them earlier in the game, then I think we give ourselves a better chance. We're just pressing a little too late. 
 
"So hopefully tomorrow we can come out and put the pressure on them early on and put their backs against the wall. That's what we talk about a lot, tomorrow's a new day, so we'll come out ready to roll tomorrow."
 
All of NSU's eight runs on the game came in the fifth inning or later, while the Huskies (8-11, 2-0) score six of their runs in within the first three innings.
 
The Huskies' first big inning of the day came early in game one forcing the Demons to play from behind from nearly the first pitch.
 
A four-run second inning, fueled by a double and a home run, gave them the lead with the final three runs of the frame coming with two outs. They picked up another two-out run in the fourth on the second of three extra base hits from leadoff batter AB Garcia to take a 5-0 lead.
 
Sophia Livers got in on the two-out offense in the fifth to score the Demons' first run of the conference schedule. She cashed in a Savannah Coleman leadoff single in the inning with a sharp two-out base hit through the right side a few batters later.
 
Back-to-back doubles in the top of the next half inning from the Huskies got the run back and extended the lead to 7-1.
 
The Demons pushed across one run each in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings getting a bases loaded sacrifice fly from Peyton Peck, the only run to score on the no-out situation, and an RBI double from Cameron Curtis.
 
Each of the first four batters in the Demons lineup had a hit in the game with the one and two-hole hitters, Livers and Curtis, each adding an RBI to their line.
 
The Demons had to fight their way back from a deficit in game two as well after another set of back-to-back doubles in the third put the Huskies up by two. The lead grew to four two innings later on a sacrifice fly and RBI single up the middle through four and a half innings.
 
After putting up five crooked number innings this past weekend in Starkville, the Demons got their first crooked inning of conference play to tie things up in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Cameron Curtis delivered the biggest hit of the game to convert two straight walks that started the inning into runs. She lined a ball to right and over the head of the right fielder with the bases loaded for a bases clearing triple to pull the Demons within a run.
 
Brynn Daniel flared a ball just over the second baseman two pitches later to tie the game at four.
 
The Huskies responded in the next half inning getting nearly all four runs back, thanks in part to a two-run triple to center with two outs that pushed the lead to three at 7-4.
 
HCU had 10 extra base hits in the two games on Friday – six doubles, three triples and a home run.
 
Curtis found herself in another bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth, down by two after a Camryn Becnel RBI single to cut into the lead, but with one out this time. An absolute rocket of a ball off the bat found the glove of third baseman Haylie Savage with the momentum carrying her glove directly to the third base bag for the unassisted double play to end the inning, leaving the tying run at second base.
 
NSU had one more chance to produce some late-game magic with runners at first and second with one out. The Demons had two at bats end in strikeouts with the winning run at the plate to finish the game.
 
"I was glad to see us fight," Fuller said. "I think with so many young players that haven't been in that situation, there's still fighting through that and still trying to learn the speed of the game. So I think that it's definitely good learning moments that hopefully can help us later on."
 
Becnel had three hits in the game, the first Demons this year with three in a single game, to go 3-for-3 at the plate with a stolen base. Curtis' three-RBI triple is the third three-RBI game for a Demon this year.
 
The Demons wrap up their first conference series of the season with HCU at 12 p.m. on ESPN+ from the Demon Diamond.