HOUSTON – Northwestern State jumped out to another early lead but could not find the timely hit it needed as HCU walked off with a 3-2 win in the Southland Conference opening series finale on Friday.
"We had opportunities throughout the game, we just couldn't come up with that big hit like we were able to do a few times yesterday," head coach
Jenny Fuller said. "I was really proud of the way that (Mattison) Buster compete for us all day, especially after pitching a lot on Thursday. It's tough to lose one like that, but we definitely saw more progress as a team this weekend and we won the series."
For the sixth game in a row the Demons scored in the first inning and the fifth time during that stretch scored multiple runs.
JT Smith reached base for the sixth time on the weekend to start the game and came around to score on a
Brynn Daniel double two batters later. Her double was the first of back-to-back hits for the Demons, with
Makynlie Jones' shot up the middle setting up an RBI groundout from
Sophia Livers and her fourth RBI of the series.
The early outburst though was all the Demons could muster in the game, after scoring 18 total runs across two games the day prior. It was not for a lack of opportunity though, as NSU had runners reach base in every inning but one of the day including having two reach with one out in the top of the second.
HCU starting pitcher Leah Hammack danced out of trouble on multiple occasions stranding seven Demon baserunners on the day and escaping multiple run-scoring opportunities throughout the game.
Hammack dueled with NSU starter
Mattison Buster, who threw nearly 150 pitches in a pair of wins less than a day earlier, across all seven inning on Friday.
After allowing the two earned runs in the first inning, Hammack put up six straight shutout innings against the Demons, relying entirely on her defense to make plays behind her, which they did.
Her only strikeout of the game came in a critical moment with the go-ahead run standing at second base in the top of the seventh inning, getting a swinging K for the second out of the frame to eventually escape the jam.
On essentially not rest, Buster was equal to the task through the entire game. It took the Huskies switching to small ball to push their first two runs of the game across the board in the bottom of the third.
Without having a single ball reach the green of the outfield grass, three perfectly placed infield singles, one on a bunt in front of home plate, loaded the bases. A would-be squeeze bunt attempt failed, but then resulted in a run as the runner at third slid in under the tag after a quick rundown.
Another bunt single drove in the tying run with one out, and Buster escaped the jam with a ground ball each to both corner infielders to keep HCU from taking the lead. HCU had just one base runner reach between the end of the third and the seventh inning as Buster retired 11-of-the-next-12 batters she faced.
The Demons had a chance to give Buster her third win of the weekend in the seventh when the first two batters reached base on a hit-by-pitch and a pinch-hit single from
Aly Delafield. However, a fly ball to center, strikeout and ground ball to short from the next three batters left her standing at second.
HCU led off the bottom of the inning with a ringing double to left center off the bat of Ella Herrewig with a sacrifice bunt moving her to third with one out. After two intentional walks to load the bases and create a force play at home, Maddy Bailey lined a ball into left to bring in the game-winning run for the Huskies.
The Demons continue play on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in a midweek contest at Grambling.
