Box Score RUSTON – As the Northwestern State baseball team's five-game road trip ended Tuesday night, its search for complementary baseball remained intact.
 
The Demons shook off a slow start on the mound with strong work from the back end of the bullpen, but the offense could not find the key hit in a 5-2 loss to state rival Louisiana Tech at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.
 
"We continue to be proud of the competitiveness and of the fight, but if we are expecting or wanting a different result, then we have to do things that win," third-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "The crooked number (a three-run third inning) came after we got two quick outs. Three runs with two outs, and we talk about getting off the field. I don't think that 13 strikeouts say we took advantage of our opportunities in the way we possibly should have. I do think a 5-2 game against an incredible team continues to show fight, and it continues to show grit. We just, at some point, have to mix our talent with clean baseball execution and that fighting spirit and put them all together in a complementary form of baseball."
 
The Demons (5-4) fell behind early as Colton Coates delivered a leadoff home run on the fifth pitch of the game from Jacob LeBlanc (1-1).
 
Foreshadowing the work of five relief pitchers, LeBlanc settled back in and limited the damage to one run across two innings. Fellow sophomore Wesley Marien followed LeBlanc and appeared on his way to an uneventful third inning when he retired the first two hitters without incident.
 
Following a two-out Colby Lunsford double, though, things went haywire on the Demons.
 
Sebastian Mexico singled to left field where Bryce Johnson charged and threw home. Johnson's throw was slightly up the third-base line, forcing catcher Sebastian Huerta to make a tag and a catch in the same motion on Lunsford, who was ruled safe.
 
The play was challenged and an obstruction call allowed the run to stand. The Bulldogs (8-1) added two more runs to the lead as five straight hitters reached to build a 4-0 lead.
 
Northwestern was able to battle back with a Thomas Marsala III sacrifice fly in the fourth and a sac fly from Sam Ardoin in the fifth before both bullpens took over. The Demon quartet of Caleb Muffoletto, Kevin Robinson, Noah Spears and Brody Trosclair shut out Louisiana Tech across the final 4 1-3 innings, keeping the game within striking distance.
 
The Northwestern offense, however, could not fully solve the Bulldogs' back end trio of Thomas Allen (1-0), Nate Crider and Riley Fisher. That group limited the Demons to three hits and a walk while striking out nine in the final four innings.
 
Northwestern built one final push in the ninth inning as Marsala and Joe Siervo singled to start the inning before Fisher retired the final three hitters to collect his first save.
 
"Very proud of the way those guys threw the ball out of the bullpen," Bertrand said. "For them to put up four consecutive zeroes and hold the ball game where it was, that was a really good thing. We were never really able to capitalize on any type of spark we go. We gave up outs on the bases after we started to gain momentum. It seems like every time we were able to cut the lead, we allowed them to come back and answer. We showed flashes of it, but when you look at the game from start to finish, from inning one to inning nine, we were lacking that complementary nature."
 
The Demons return to action Friday when they host Southeastern Louisiana in the opener of a three-game Southland Conference series. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
Louisiana Tech 5, Northwestern State 2
NSU     000 110 000 – 2 6 1
LT           103 100 00x – 5 9 0
W – Thomas Allen (1-0). L – Jacob LeBlanc (1-1). S – Riley Fisher (1). 2B – LT, Colby Lunsford. HR – LT, Colton Coates (2), Casey McCoy (1). Highlights: NSU, Brooks Leonard 2-4; Joe Siervo 2-2. LT, Coates 2-4, HR, RBI; Cade Patterson 2-3, RBI; McCoy 2-3, HR, RBI.
Records: Northwestern State 5-4; Louisiana Tech 8-1.