NATCHITOCHES – A season ago, the Northwestern State baseball team blasted a school single-season record 63 home runs.
 
That was the good news. The big question was how would the Demons react to losing all but six of those home runs entering the 2026 season?
 
Northwestern provided a strong response Sunday afternoon, slugging four home runs en route to a 10-3 victory that clinched a three-game sweep of former Southland Conference rival UT Arlington at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
"It's a testament to having great players, and it's a testament to having great coaches and those combinations being willing to put in the work," third-year head coach Chris Bertand said. "The way (assistant coach and recruiting coordinator) Dylan (Belanger) has built our roster and gotten us what we needed. The way that (assistant coach) Sam (Taylor) and (former assistant coach) Billy (Henley) before him and the rest of the coaching staff puts in the work to be able to develop those players. It speaks to the overall program for what we're trying to build."
 
For the first time all weekend, the Demons (3-0) built an early lead. After fashioning come-from-behind victories in the late innings Friday and Saturday, Northwestern scored first for the first time this season when Sebastian Huerta swatted a two-out solo home run in the second inning off UTA right-hander Dylan Skolfield (0-1).
 
That swing delivered Huerta's first career home run and was part of a career-high-tying, three-hit day for the senior catcher. Huerta previously set his career high in hits on May 3, 2025, at Pepperdine.
 
Huerta's first three-hit game started a run of three multi-hit performances in his final seven games of the 2025 season. Huerta was able to build on that success throughout the fall and enjoyed the breakthrough results Sunday.
 
"I just settled in and started trusting myself," Huerta said of what changed for him late in 2025. "(The home run was a result) of the work I put in over the summer. I'm just happy it finally happened."
 
What it also did was jump start a run of Demon dingers.
 
Colton Harrison joined Huerta as first-time Northwestern home run hitters in the third inning, launching a high-arcing solo blast to left field that was followed by an opposite-field home run by Thomas Marsala III on the ensuing pitch.
 
Those three runs were more than enough for Huerta's batterymate, senior right-hander Trent Hillen.
 
Hillen tossed five innings of one-run ball, matching his career high with eight strikeouts while scattering three hits. Each of the three Demon starters on the weekend worked at least five innings and did not allow more than two runs.
 
"I just watched Carter (White) and Dylan (Marionneaux) all weekend just execute pitches," Hillen said. "That gave me confidence to go out and just do me. We started the first two innings in a tight game. Once we started scoring more, I had to hold them to zeroes. After they hit a solo home run, it was 3-1 at the time. My offense went out and scored runs, and I just had to keep executing pitches."
 
The Demons effectively put the game away after Hillen departed, tacking on four runs in the bottom of the fifth.
 
UTA (0-3) was able to pull within four after scoring single runs in the seventh and eighth innings before the Demons capped their long-ball barrage with another first-time blast.
 
After a Joe Siervo RBI double, JT Simonelli drove the first pitch he saw from Jacob Gabler over the center-field wall for a two-run home run that capped a six-homer weekend for the Demons.
 
"We talked (Saturday) about buy-in and character," Bertrand said. "Colton's one of those guys. He's a tremendous human being. He's fun to be around. He's a great program guy in addition to being a great player. Colton is having success because of the work he has put in and because he deserves it. Same thing with JT. Same thing with Sebastian. When you have high-character guys and people are willing to put in the work and buy into the culture, those are the type of things that happens."
 
The Demons return to action Tuesday when they host ULM in the conclusion of a four-game homestand. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
Northwestern State 10, UT Arlington 3
UTA      000 100 110 – 3 8 1
NSU     012 040 03x – 10 13 2
W – Trent Hillen (1-0). L – Dylan Skolfield (0-1). 2B – UTA, Caylon Dygert. NSU, Grant Comeaux, Joe Siervo. HR – UTA, Zach Mazoch (1). NSU, Sebastian Huerta (1), Colton Harrison (1), Thomas Marsala III (2), JT Simonelli (1). Highlights: UTA, Preston Knott 2-4, RBI; Dygert 2-4, 2B. NSU, Huerta 3-4, HR, RBI; Brock Davis 3-3, RBI.
Records: UT Arlington 0-3, Northwestern State 3-0.