JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Northwestern State gets another opportunity to match its improved production with results this weekend, as the Demons head to Jacksonville State for their third tournament of the season.
 
The Demons (3-9) are set to play five more games in the span of three days against three different teams, all of which enter the weekend with winning records.
 
NSU opens play with a single game against Gardner-Webb (6-3) on Friday at noon. They will see the Bulldogs again in the first game on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m., before the first of two meetings with DePaul (7-4) that afternoon. Sunday's doubleheader starts with DePaul at 10 a.m. following by the host Jacksonville State (6-4) to close the weekend.
 
None of the games this weekend will be streamed with video but fans can follow along pitch-by-pitch by clicking the corresponding game at nsudemons.com/livestats.
 
"We are playing some good teams, but we feel like they are winnable games," head coach Jenny Fuller said. "It's really a matter of getting the offense and the pitching together at the same time and both having a good day. That's really our main focus this weekend, finding a little more consistency in both places."
 
Forgotten in the excitement of the class of newcomers this year is the fact that the majority of them have not played together before, save for the trio Northwest Florida State products that made their way to Natchitoches.
 
Integration with each other on the field continues to take time and strengthens with each passing game.
 
"I think the biggest thing we're figuring out right now is how to play together and work together as one team," Fuller said. "We think we have the right pieces to do that, it's just taking us time to get where we want to be. We're not there yet and have a lot to improve on but we have the talent and it might take us a little longer than we hoped but we know we can get there."
 
Through the on-field connections being built and strengthened, the lineup has already seen marked improvement from where it was a year ago.
 
Through the first 10 games of the 2026 season, the Demons have raised their team batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and batting average with runners in scoring position by an average of 100 points across the board.
 
The team ERA has dropped by nearly three runs per game, opponent's batting average is down more than 50 points and Demon pitchers have more than doubled their strikeout total from this point a year ago.
 
"Our production in every phase of the game is better this year than it was last year," Fuller said. "That hasn't come with wins just yet but all we can do is keep working hard and know eventually that is going to pay off."
 
The Demons, led by the hottest hitter entering the weekend Brynn Daniel, will face two staffs with ERAs above 5.50 this year in Gardner-Webb and Jax State, as the rest of the lineup aims to match what Daniel has done the past two weekends.
 
Daniel enters Friday having reached base in 10 straight games, one shy of matching her career best set last season between Feb. 26 and March 14. She is 12-for-27 (.444) during the stretch with a .545 on-base percentage, including four multi-hit games.
 
"The biggest thing I've seen from her is how she's taken on a leadership role in the hitting lineup," Fuller said of Daniel. "She's become one of our most consistent bats and someone we know that when she steps to the plate she's capable of getting a hit and getting the offense going."
 
She is one of three players on the team hitting above .300 on the season, Hayden Andrews and Britt Bougoyne the others. They had none through 10 games a year ago.
 
The statistical gains have been undeniable. The next step is pairing that growth with timely execution against quality opponents. This weekend in Alabama presents another opportunity to prove that the progress is more than numbers on a page.