NATCHITOCHES – Whoever took the mound Saturday afternoon in the second game of the Northwestern State baseball team's Southland Conference series with New Orleans had a tough act to follow.
 
In some ways, Demon right-hander Dylan Marionneaux may have topped it.
 
Marionneaux spun his second career complete game, scattering seven hits as Northwestern evened the series with a 6-2 victory at Brown-Stroud Field on Saturday.
 
"(It came) at a time when the team needed him most," third-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "I'm really happy for Slim (Marionneaux). What a gutsy, gritty kind of performance. The whole team, Slim included, the thing that impresses me the most is the response of everyone at every turn. The entire ball club with a response to last night's game in which we struggled to get some things going. They set out today to get some things going. Slim, in particular, after we took the lead with the two in the third, the zero in the fourth was paramount."
 
That shutdown inning from Marionneaux (2-2) came after the bottom of the Demon order started a two-run, two-out rally.
 
Sam Ardoin got the Northwestern (14-9, 7-4) offense rolling with a line-drive double off the left-field wall while Ethan Menard and Thomas Marsala III collecting RBI singles.
 
The game-tying single by Menard started a career day for the designated hitter who made his Demon debut March 13 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after missing the first 17 games of the season with a broken finger.
 
Menard finished 3-for-5 with a career-best four RBIs. He delivered a two-run double inside the third-base bag in to spark a three-run fifth inning and answered Miles Curley's solo home run against Marionneaux in the sixth with an RBI single.
 
"They were pounding me in," Menard said. "I had been struggling to get the barrel around. The hand's been a little off. I knew it was coming. I opened up a little bit and used it to my advantage."
 
From there, Marionneaux took control.
 
On the first anniversary of his two-hit shutout at New Orleans, Marionneaux again smothered the Privateers (10-15, 4-7), going the distance for his second career complete game.
 
A season ago, Marionneaux struck out nine in a 1-0 pitchers' duel at Maestri Field. Following a 3-2 New Orleans win in another pitching-dominated game Friday night, Marionneaux again elevated his game.
 
He struck out six against one walk, making use of the Demons' infield defense, especially shortstop Sam Ardoin.
 
From the second through the fifth innings, Marionneaux induced seven groundouts to his shortstop, helping the right-hander keep the Privateers scoreless in that time.
 
"A lot of things worked, but the main thing was the defense playing behind me," said Marionneaux, who threw 72 of his career-high 103 pitches for strikes and recorded 12 groundball outs. "They were outstanding. The offense was outstanding as well. Timely hits, a lot of pressure from them. The dugout was unbelievable. Everybody was unbelievable behind me."
 
Ardoin had his pitcher's back – literally and figuratively – throughout Saturday's game.
 
It was Ardoin's two-out, line-drive double that started the three-run third inning against Bryson Goff (3-2), and it was Ardoin in the ninth who pulled Marionneaux aside after the right-hander fell behind Jayden Adcox 3-1 to start the inning.
 
Marionneaux recovered to get Adcox to ground out for the fourth time in the game before retiring the next two Privateers without incident to complete his gem.
 
"He told me this is what I wanted," Marionneaux said. "I wanted to finish the game out. He said, they were playing behind my back. I knew the whole game they were behind me, so go compete and they'll get it done for me."
 
In addition to his ringing double, Ardoin laid down a bunt single that helped set the three-run fifth inning in motion.
 
"We need to credit his defense, but Sam got the double and comes back with a beautiful bunt base hit," Bertand said. "Then he walks and he steals a base, and he helps us extend the lead. It's fun whenever guys like Sam and Brooks (Leonard) are on base, because it helps us generate some momentum. Today, we did a good job of holding that momentum."
 
The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. The Demons will send senior right-hander Trent Hillen (1-1, 5.40) to the mound while the Privateers have not named a starter.
 
Northwestern State 6, New Orleans 2
UNO    100 001 000 – 2 7 0
NSU     002 031 00x – 6 7 1
W – Dylan Marioneaux (2-2). L – Bryson Goff (3-2). 2B – UNO, Dylan Biddick. NSU, Sam Ardoin, Ethan Menard. HR – UNO, Miles Curley (2). Highlights: UNO, Curley 2-4, HR; Biddick 3-4, 2B. NSU, Ethan Menard 3-5, 2B, 4 RBIs.
Records: New Orleans 10-15, 4-7, Northwestern State 14-9, 7-4.