MONROE – Northwestern State wraps up non-conference play on Wednesday when it travels to ULM for a midweek tilt with one of the best teams in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
First pitch for the final game of the home-and-home series with the Warhawks, the first between the two teams since 2017, is set for 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
 
ULM (26-13, 7-2 SBC) blasted its way to a 13-0 win in Natchitoches in five innings on Feb. 26, nearly completing the home run cycle with a solo shot, two-run homer and a three-run blast in the game among their 12 total hits.
 
"I think that since we played ULM the first time that we've gotten better as the season's gone on," head coach Jenny Fuller said. "So, I think that we'll go in there and compete a little bit better with them. So, I'm excited to play them again."
 
The Demons (4-30, 1-11 SLC) picked up their first conference win of the season this past weekend, finally breaking through a litany of close games since the first meeting with the Warhawks for the 8-7 victory at East Texas A&M.
 
It was the 10^th game in a month's time the Demons played that was decided by two runs or less, including all three in the series against the Lions.
 
NSU hit five home runs this past weekend, the most in a three-game conference series since launching six against Abilene Christian in 2019 and had three players bat over .500 for the weekend.
 
DJ Lynch went 5-for-9 with a pair of doubles. Brynn Daniel was 4-for-8 with three home runs and seven RBI and was the first player since Cayla Jones in 2018 to hit two home runs in a conference game. Riley Schwisow was 3-for-6 with a home run.
 
While not the explosive games she's had the past couple weekends, Aly Delafield picked up hits in all three games, extending her career-long seven game hitting streak to seven on a double in the Saturday finale. Delafield as hits in nine of the past 10 games.
 
She continues to pace the Demons with a .419 batting average in conference play, going 13-for-29 (.448) over the past three series.
 
In the 19 games following the meeting with the Warhawks, the Demons have upped their offensive production by more than two runs per game compared to the first 14 games of the season.
 
The Warhawks have been in their fair share of close games over the past month as well, seeing 10 games come down to the final innings, including all three in their series sweep of Troy this past weekend being one-run affairs. ULM is 8-2 in those games.
 
They have won four straight and are 7-2 in conference play this year, their only two losses coming at UL Lafayette, and sit tied atop the league standing through the first three weekends with Georgia Southern and Marshall. The Warhawks have the best overall winning percentage in the Sun Belt at 26-13.
 
They have won 18 straight home games this season behind the best offense in the Sun Belt. Their .333 team batting average leads the league and ranks 28^th in the country.
 
The Brown twins, Morgan and Megan, serve as the catalyst for the Warhawk offense, each batting over .410 with a combined 99 hits and 85 RBI. They account for 41 of the 92 total extra base hits by ULM this year and 40 percent of their runs driven in.