MONROE – After playing 15 of its first 24 games at home, the Northwestern State baseball team is about to find out how life on the road really feels.
 
Beginning with Tuesday's 6 p.m. game at ULM, the Demons take on their longest road trip of the season – a seven-game stretch that includes conference series at Nicholls (Friday-Sunday) and at UTRGV (April 2-4). The game will air on 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches and on www.NSUDemons.com.
 
"How do we get what we think is the B-Stro magic to travel with us?" third-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. "That's probably not necessarily just a mental thing. It's something that goes along with the parity (in college baseball) and how each team has tremendous players and is hard-working. Each team grinds and gets better on a daily basis, too. Part of the road stuff is the parity we have found, but we want to be in search of what small adjustments we can make so we can get some road wins and continue to climb."
 
Tuesday's matchup is the second of three games between the former Southland Conference rivals this season. In the opener, Northwestern (15-9) rallied late to take a 13-10 victory from the Warhawks in Natchitoches on Feb. 17.
 
Since then, ULM (14-11) has jumped to a 4-2 start in Sun Belt Conference play, including a three-game sweep of Texas State from March 13-15.
 
The Warhawks have done so with an offense that ranks second nationally in doubles (67) and fourth in doubles per game (2.68) and hits (286). ULM's .330 team batting average ranks 14^th nationally with the Warhawks leading the Sun Belt in all four of those categories.
 
The Warhawks enter Tuesday's game with an 11-4 mark at home – one gave shy of Northwestern's 12-3 mark at Brown-Stroud Field.
 
"Obviously, the three-game sweep of Texas State stands out, but they're a team that you expect a little bit more offense from them," Bertrand said. "They have been extremely offensive to this point, and they do it in multiple phases. The doubles are high, the homers are high, the stolen bases are high. They put pressure on you in a bunch of different ways. We're excited for the opportunity to compete against a team like that, because it's something that we feel is going to help us learn and get information about what it is we need to be doing moving forward."
 
While ULM has fashioned its winning record behind its offense, the Demons have shown balance in starting the season 15-9 for the second straight season.
 
Northwestern's pitching staff leads the Southland Conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.17, 14^th nationally) and in ERA (3.97, 33^rd nationally).
 
The Demons will send left-hander Jacob LeBlanc (2-2, 4.09) against ULM left-hander Hayden Toal (0-0, 10.80).
 
While Northwestern allowed 10 runs in the first meeting with ULM, it also showed its signature gritty style, scoring 10 runs across the seventh and eighth innings to rally for the victory.
 
"That's exactly what it is we say we want to be, and I think there's something about having guys that love to play, love to compete and do what they say they're going to do," Bertrand said. "At times, even through the moments where we need to put in work or we need to continue to grow and develop as a team, knowing that's the case and knowing we have a group that's always going to show up – as the leader – it gives you some level of peace at the start of the game, knowing that your guys are always going to be in the fight."