NATCHITOCHES – With one swing, Colton Harrison turned around both his and the Northwestern State baseball team's fortunes.
 
Harrison's pinch-hit, tiebreaking two-run home run in the eighth inning Sunday afternoon lifted the Demons to a 5-4 victory against Southeastern Louisiana at Brown-Stroud Field, allowing the Demons to salvage one game of their Southland Conference-opening series.
 
"We knew (Logan Freche) threw cutters and sliders," Harrison said. "I saw Bryce (Johnson) hit the ball hard, and as soon as he got on base, I was just looking for a pitch I could drive and get the job done. I've been struggling, but having a coach who believes in me every day when I show up to practice and doing the work gives me faith in the process."
 
Harrison's first home run since Feb. 15, which followed a pinch-hit single by Johnson, snapped a 3-all tie and put the Demons (6-6, 1-2) in position to snap a four-game losing streak. It was Northwestern's first pinch-hit home run since Braden Benton's blast in Game 2 of a March 29, 2025, doubleheader against Nicholls.
 
It also snapped the longest home run drought of the season for Northwestern, which had not connected on a home run since Thomas Marsala III's game-tying shot at Central Arkansas in Game 2 of a Feb. 21 doubleheader.
 
Harrison's blast made a winner of sophomore left-hander Jacob LeBlanc (2-1), who along with Wesley Marien and Lucas Harrington continued the strong work of the Demon bullpen across the series. They followed 5 1-3 stellar innings from starter Trent Hillen, who allowed two hits and one earned run while striking out seven to put the Demons in position to break back into the win column.
 
With a little help from a web gem from second baseman Hudson Brignac, LeBlanc kept the Demons' seventh-inning deficit at 3-2, which allowed Brignac to score on Thomas Marsala III's RBI single to re-tie the game in the bottom of the seventh.
 
After Southeastern (4-7, 2-1) put the tying run on base with back-to-back singles to start the ninth, LeBlanc and Harrington combined to record the final three outs with Harrington striking out Brooks Wright to strand the tying run at third base.
 
The quartet of Demon pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts, marking Northwestern's second double-figure strikeout game of the weekend and eighth of the season.
 
"All weekend the bullpen's been doing its job," Harrington said. "It's a morale boost, knowing that we've all got each other's backs whenever we go into the game. I just wanted to pound the zone and get ahead of guys, get weak ground balls, weak contact and win the game."
 
Marsala's seventh-inning single was his career-high third hit and gave him a career-high three RBIs. His two-run single in the fifth inning off Southeastern starter Blake Lobell gave the Demons their first lead of the weekend and their first since Feb. 21.
 
"The biggest thing is we passed the test," third-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "I talked to them before the ballgame and told them today was going to be a test. It was going to test our mental toughness, and it was going to test our pride. It was going to test a lot of the characteristics and pillars that we say we are going to be built upon. When that gets tested, it's fun to see how they respond. We are well aware that wasn't sexy baseball for three days, and we are well aware there are some things we need to go do, but if you're able to stay in the fight and you continue to exhibit championship character, you can get a little spark."
 
The Demons return to action Tuesday night when they host Grambling to cap a four-game homestand. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
Northwestern State 5, Southeastern Louisiana 4
SLU      001 001 101 – 4 6 1
NSU     000 020 12x – 5 10 2
W – Jacob LeBlanc (2-1). L – Logan Freche (0-2). S – Lucas Harrington (1). 2B – NSU, Thomas Marsala III. HR – NSU, Colton Harrison (2). Highlights: SLU, Ben Robichaux 3-4, 2 RBIs. NSU, Marsala 3-4, 2B, 3 RBIs; JT Simonelli 3-4.
Records: Southeastern Louisiana 4-7, 2-1; Northwestern State 6-6, 1-2.