NATCHITOCHES – While the weather forecast for this weekend is a bit uncertain, the Northwestern State baseball team's focus is not.
 
The Demons know what awaits them as they welcome Southland Conference newcomer UTRGV to Brown-Stroud Field for a three-game league series, beginning Friday night at 6:30.
 
Friday's game will be Greek Night at the game and there will be a student tailgate ahead of the series opener. The series also includes a 2 p.m. Saturday game and a 1 p.m. Sunday matinee series finale. All three games will air on ESPN+.
 
At the midpoint of Southland play for both teams, Northwestern (18-11, 10-5) sits in a tie for fourth place while the Vaqueros (20-8, 12-3) are in second place, a half game behind league-leading Houston Christian.
 
"The amount of respect we have for the opponent coming in and the way we want to prepare for it, we think the Tuesday and Wednesday games against such high-caliber teams (UL Lafayette and Tulane) really prepared us for (this weekend)," second-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "It prepares you because you face those types of arms, and it prepares your arms because they face that type of offense. As we mentioned before the games started, it prepares you to face a multitude of things.
 
"We know RGV is coming in with a dynamic offense. They're able to do a lot of things, evident by the way they put up 20 runs (Wednesday) night (in a win at Rice). Hopefully, we're able to take those lessons we learned Tuesday and Wednesday night and bring it into the fight. We're glad to be back at home in the B-Stro, and we want to take those life lessons into the fight. Hopefully, we're looking at some really good baseball."
 
Both teams have enjoyed extended periods of success in conference play this season.
 
UTRGV won its first nine games as a Southland member before dropping two of three to HCU two weekends ago. The Vaqueros bounced back by taking two of three at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this past weekend.
 
The Demons, meanwhile, have won four consecutive Southland series since being swept in the conference-opening series at Southeastern Louisiana from Feb. 28-March 2. Additionally, Northwestern has won 13 straight games at home since falling to Central Arkansas in its Feb. 14 season opener.
 
Since that opening-series loss to the Lions, the Demons are 10-2 in league play as they have hit their stride.
 
"It's been about the idea or concept of stringing good at-bats together," Bertrand said. "You hear the way our dugout operates throughout the course of a game. You know the type of preparation (assistant coach) Billy (Henley) puts in with the guys. It's really about the quality of the at-bat. It's about the fight and competitiveness within the at-bat. We want to string as many of those together as we possibly can. The balance part of it is not only the power numbers (10 home runs in the past seven games) but also the way we have stolen bases and the way we have added another dynamic – another tool to the toolbox – in our baserunning. That balance of power and speed and the competitive nature to increase the quality of the at-bats up and down the lineup, every at-bat, every inning, is where we're most proud of our guys. We're hoping to take that, mixed with the life lessons, into the weekend, because if you do that, that's how you find yourself in position to win a baseball game."
 
The Vaqueros will challenge both sides of the Demons – pitching and offense.
 
In league play, UTRGV leads the conference in runs (133) and RBIs (124) while ranking second in the league in batting average (.338). On the mound, UTRGV is third in ERA (4.15) and third in strikeouts (124) despite playing the majority of its first 15 conference games in hitter-friendly environments.
 
"It's worth noting how, over the course of what we've done when we started playing well, we talked about doing it in different ways," Bertrand said. "You have a baseball series this weekend in which all three games have the potential to unfold in different ways. Against that offense, if they score the amount of runs they're capable of scoring, we have to be ready to go shot for shot and be prepared to win a high-scoring game. If the pitching staffs end up on the front end of a game, we have to be prepared to play a close game. There, the ability to execute and string together those good at-bats and get something extra coming out of our bullpen, that becomes paramount. The idea that we have won a multitude of games in a multitude of ways could pay dividends over the weekend because of the lessons we have learned in how to go about doing that."
 
Series Probables:
Friday: UTRGV RHP Angelo Cabral (4-0, 3.86) at Northwestern State RHP Dylan Marionneaux (3-2, 2.57)
Saturday: UTRGV RHP Wyatt Wiatrek (4-0, 1.59) at Northwestern State RHP Tyler Bryan (1-3, 6.94)
Sunday: UTRGV LHP Victor Loa (4-1, 2.03) at Northwestern State RHP Trent Hillen (4-1, 3.21)