NSU 9 Thomas Marsala III
Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
2
Northwestern St NSU 4-2
3
Winner Central Arkansas UCA 4-2
Northwestern St NSU
4-2
2
Final
3
Central Arkansas UCA
4-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northwestern St NSU 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 9 0
Central Arkansas UCA 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 X 3 8 0

W: MEELER, CADEN (2-0) L: Marionneaux, Dylan (0-1) S: ALEXANDER, HUNTER (3)

5
Winner Northwestern St NSU 5-2
2
Central Arkansas UCA 4-3
Winner
Northwestern St NSU
5-2
5
Final
2
Central Arkansas UCA
4-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 R H E
Northwestern St NSU 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 8 2
Central Arkansas UCA 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 2

W: Harrington, Lucas (1-0) L: HAYWOOD, BRAXTON (0-1)

Game Recap: Demon Baseball | | Jason Pugh, Associate Athletic Director for External Relations

Demons take nightcap in 15th to split doubleheader at UCA

CONWAY, Arkansas – Don't tempt the Northwestern State baseball team with a lengthy extra-inning contest.
 
For the second time in the first seven games of the 2026 season, the Demons went deep into extra innings to outlast an opponent and grab a late-game victory. This time, Northwestern scored three times in the 15th inning to defeat Central Arkansas, 5-2, and earn a split of Saturday's doubleheader after the host Bears won the opener, 3-2.
 
"Not only what they were able to accomplish in the 15-inning back end (of the doubleheader), but what we've done in playing three (tight) games," third-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "They've been fighting since (Friday). It's not easy to go on the road and play a quality opponent and expect that great things are going to happen to you. You have to come out punching, and you have to come out fighting. I thought we continued to do that. It's unfortunate we were on the losing end of the first two, but our guys continued to fight, they continued to compete, they continued to punch."
 
In the nightcap, the top of the order allowed the Demons (5-2) to break through in the 15th inning of a pitching-dominated affair.
 
Joe Siervo's leadoff walk started a three-run rally that included RBI singles from Thomas Marsala III and Brooks Leonard. It was the lone multi-run inning of the game for either team.
 
The bullpens for each team stifled the opposing offenses after NSU's Kevin Robinson (6 IP, 0 ER) and Central Arkansas' Caide White (6 1-3 IP, 2 ER) delivered quality starts.
 
Northwestern right-handed relievers Wesley Marien and Lucas Harrington (1-0) combined for nine shutout innings of relief, allowing two hits and striking out 11 Bear hitters.
 
Harrington worked the final five innings of shutout relief, allowing one hit – a 12th-inning, one-out infield single to Zeb Allen. Allen advanced to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch before Harrington settled back in and induced consecutive ground balls to shortstop Sam Ardoin – one with the infield drawn in – to escape the threat.
 
"It's been a while," Harrington said of the last time he pitched five innings in a game. "At Co-Lin (Copiah-Lincoln Community College) I was mainly a bullpen arm, so I haven't been extended that long in a while. I knew with Sam behind me, he was going to make some plays. The whole defense in general are really good athletes. When the ball's in play, they're going to give their best effort."
 
Ardoin helped close out Marien's outing with a leaping grab of a Jack Runsick line drive to end the 10th inning and strand the bases loaded.
 
Coupled with Brody Trosclair's 2 2-3 shutout innings in the opener of the doubleheader, the Demon bullpen worked 11 2-3 shutout innings of relief Saturday with 15 strikeouts.
 
Trosclair's relief efforts kept the Demons one swing away from taking the opener.
 
Down 3-2 after back-to-back RBI triples off Dylan Marionneaux (0-1) in the sixth inning, Northwestern had two runners on in each of the final three innings. In each of those innings, a Central Arkansas defender made a stellar inning-ending play, topped by center fielder Jayden Sloan's diving catch in center field to rob Ardoin of at least a game-tying hit in the eighth.
 
"We continue to go through a ton of adversity with what we've got going on with the ball club – injuries and some different things – but when you compete your tail off and when you give yourself a puncher's chance, we maintain that our guys are punchers," Bertrand said. "I'm proud of the job the pitching staff did. Fifteen innings and no earned runs – that's an unbelievable job by our pitching staff and by (pitching coach) Dan Hlad today. Unbelievable job by Harry right there at the end. I couldn't be any more proud about what our team continues to exhibit in the way of character."
 
The series concludes with a 1 p.m. Sunday matinee. Northwestern will send right-hander Trent Hillen (1-0, 1.80) to the mound against a to-be-named Central Arkansas starter.
 
Central Arkansas 3-2, Northwestern State 2-5
Game 1
NSU     100 010 000 – 2 9 0
UCA     000 012 00x – 3 8 0
W – Caden Meeler (2-0). L – Dylan Marionneaux (0-1). S – Hunter Alexander (3). 2B – UCA, Mark Ross. 3B – UCA, Ross, Jack Runsick. HR – NSU, Brock Davis (2). UCA, Zane Denton (1). Highlights: NSU, Davis 4-5, HR, RBI; Thomas Marsala III 2-4. UCA, Nate Negre 2-4; Ross 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI.
Game 2
NSU     010 001 000 000 003 – 5 8 2
UCA     000 200 000 000 000 – 2 9 2
W – Lucas Harrington (1-0). L – Braxton Haywood (0-1). 2B – NSU, Colin Rains, Sam Ardoin. HR – NSU, Thomas Marsala III (3). Highlights: NSU, Marsala 2-7, HR, RBI. UCA, Zeb Allen 3-7.
Records: Northwestern State 5-2; Central Arkansas 4-3.
 
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