CONWAY, Arkansas – Even when the Northwestern State baseball team's offense started slowly in the early part of the 2026 season, the Demon pitching staff typically had held the game in position for a comeback.
That did not happen Sunday afternoon at Bear Stadium.
Central Arkansas tallied four multi-run innings – including a pair of four-run frames – as the Bears took the finale of the four-game series from the Demons, 13-5.
"Obviously, not a level of competitive spirit that we're proud of," third-year head coach
Chris Bertrand said. "I think we just got off to a slow start in all phases of the game and never were able to recover or pick up a spark to get anything of significance going."
After two one-run games and a 15-inning thriller in the first three games of the series, Northwestern (5-3) could not find its offensive bearings against UCA right-hander Patrick Fernandez.
Fernandez (1-1) retired the first 10 Demons he faced before
Brock Davis lined his third home run of the weekend into the bullpen beyond the right-field fence.
Davis' home run and a pinch-hit single by
Noah McNeil in the fifth inning stood as Northwestern's lone two base runners through six innings against Fernandez.
While the Demons endured another slow offensive start, the Bears (5-3) scratched across a single run off Demon starter
Trent Hillen (1-1) in the second inning before piling on a four-run third with three of the runs coming with two outs.
Jack Runsick's bases-clearing, three-run double an inning later gave Fernandez more than enough offensive support.
Down 9-1 after six, the Demons strung together a three-run seventh inning that began with a Davis leadoff walk and was highlighted by a two-run
Brooks Leonard single to cut the Bear lead to 9-4.
Davis drove the Demon offense throughout the weekend, finishing 6-for-16 with three home runs and four walks.
"We need to celebrate the type of weekend Brock had, not only because of the way it says he's a great player but also in the way that it says Brock is a guy who really wants to compete every day," Bertrand said. "He relishes the competition, and he exhibits a competitive spirit. There's no noise with Brock. There's no distractions. It's all gas, no brakes, and a focus on competing his tail off. That's why you see him having success right now. On days like today, we need to get more people to do that."
The Demons return to action Tuesday when they travel to Louisiana Tech. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in Ruston.
Central Arkansas 13, Northwestern State 5
NSU 000 100 310 – 5 8 1
UCA 014 301 40x – 13 16 0
W – Patrick Fernandez (1-1). L –
Trent Hillen (1-1). S – JB Williams (1). 2B – UCA, Nate Negre, Jack Runsick. HR – NSU,
Brock Davis (3). UCA, Jayden Sloan (2). Highlights: NSU,
Thomas Marsala III 2-4, RBI;
Brooks Leonard 2-4, 2 RBIs. UCA, Zeb Allen 3-5; Sloan 3-6, HR, 4 RBIs; Negre 2-4, 2B, RBI; Runsick 3-4, 2B, 4 RBIs; Casey Shipley 2-5, RBI.
Records: Northwestern State 5-3, Central Arkansas 5-3.
