NATCHITOCHES – Two big innings aided by self-inflicted mistakes haunted the Northwestern State baseball team in its Southland Conference opener Friday night.
Southeastern Louisiana took advantage of a season-high seven walks by Demon pitching and built an early lead before hanging on for a 7-5 victory at Brown-Stroud Field.
"The story of the game is we dug ourselves such a massive hole through self-infliction and self-destruction that we found it extremely difficult to play the game when you spot a team like that – and a Friday-night starter like (Brady) St. Pierre – four runs," third-year head coach
Chris Bertrand said. "So we have to do a better job of limiting the self-inflicted wounds and the self-destruction, and we need to take advantage of some of the opportunities that we create early in the ball games in order to be able to grab some type of momentum and pull it over to our side.
"We find ourselves playing way too much with our backs against the ropes way too early in ball games. We want to continue to be proud of the fight and the grit and the competitiveness, because I thought – other than the two crooked numbers – the rest of the game was played really competitively and really well by our team."
The Demons (5-5, 0-1) found themselves trailing early after starting pitcher
Carter White endured a lengthy second inning.
White (0-2), who struck out two in a perfect first inning, issued back-to-back walks and hit a batter to load the bases with no outs in the second. An infield RBI single by Ben Robichaux started the scoring with Brook Wright's two-run double extending the lead.
A three-run Southeastern (3-6, 1-0) fifth inning, which came with only one hit, seemingly put the Lions in control until junior right-hander
Kevin Robinson took the mound.
Robinson hit the first batter he faced after relieving White with one on and two outs in the fifth, but he settled in and fired 4 1-3 innings of shutout relief to keep the deficit at seven.
"Kevin continues to be a steadying presence for the ball club and for the pitching staff," Bertrand said. "It's the work ethic he has, and the character he possesses. That makes it really special. When our team is in need the most, we seem to be heavily reliant upon Kevin right now, because he earned it, he deserves it and he continues to perform with great presence and courage when he's called upon."
After posting single hits in each of the first four innings against St. Pierre (1-2), the Demons finally broke through in the fifth.
Michael McAloose's one-out walk started a streak of four straight Demons who reached base, including a two-run single from
Thomas Marsala III. The four-run frame gave Northwestern chances in the final four innings, but the Demons only were able to score once.
That run came in the eighth inning when
Colin Rains' RBI triple, which scooted past a diving Wright in center field, scored
Noah McNeil, who had singled.
The Demons outhit the Lions 11-4 with
Hudson Brignac leading the way, going 3-for-5 in his second game of the season after returning from an ankle injury.
"He's another great example of that – the character of the man, the work that he puts in, the fact he stated adversity in the face with this injury and made himself healthy quickly, not necessarily skip a beat," Bertrand said. "That speaks to the person he is and the meaningfulness that he has to our ball club. That's why you see the fruits of that labor. That's why you see him having success."
The series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday with a matchup of right-handed pitchers. Lakin Polk (0-1, 8.00) takes the mound for the Lions while the Demons are expected to counter with
Dylan Marionneaux (0-1, 4.22).
Southeastern Louisiana 7, Northwestern State 5
SLU 040 030 000 – 7 4 2
NSU 000 040 010 – 5 11 0
W – Brady St. Pierre (1-2). L –
Carter White (0-2). S – Truitt Webb (1). 2B – SLU, Brooks Wright. 3B – NSU,
Colin Rains. Highlights: Ben Robichaux 2-3, 3 RBIs. NSU,
Brooks Leonard 2-5;
Hudson Brignac 3-5; Rains 2-4, 3B, RBI.
Records: Southeastern Louisiana 3-6, 1-0; Northwestern State 5-5, 0-1.
