NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Good teams find ways to win games, and Northwestern State continues to make its claim as one of them.
 
In a pitcher's duel Thursday night, the Demons (19-18, 8-5) capitalized on a pair of Stephen F. Austin (21-17, 5-8) errors to score two runs, which was plenty of support for ace Mattison Buster, who tossed her fifth shutout of the season in a 2-0 win.
 
"I feel like 2-0 wins aren't as common these days, but when you have a pitcher like Buster in the circle, she can limit the runs and we scored enough to win," head coach Jenny Fuller said. 
 
With both teams' aces squaring off in the series opener, runs figured to be at a premium and each side would need to take advantage of their run-scoring chances.
 
Through the first three innings, neither team did.
 
Both the Demons and Lumberjacks put multiple runners on base in the first and second innings, and both teams left runners stranded on bases in those innings.
 
It was Buster that escaped the first biggest jam of the game when SFA put got two runners on with just one out in the inning. Two ground balls later though, off the bats of the three- and four-hole hitters, and the game remained scoreless through the first three innings of play.
 
The relentlessness of the Demons finally paid off in the next half inning, as they took advantage of a pair of SFA errors, another trait that all good teams share.
 
An error at second put Aly Delafield on with one out, and following a Sister Arnold single to right and error on the play, the Demons had runners at second and third with one out. Britt Bourgoyne made the Jacks pay shooting the first pitch she saw into the left center gap bringing in both Delafield and Arnold for the game's only runs.
 
The game turned in the span of four pitches.
 
"We scattered some hits tonight so we were getting contact on the ball," Fuller said. "Britt was tired of getting out so she bore down and got the hit that proved to be the game winner. Really proud of her and how she played tonight. But the approach was hunt good pitches early because Crimson Bryant is really good and it paid off."
 
From there, it is was Buster's game.
 
She allowed just three total baserunners the rest of the game on three base hits, coming in the fourth, sixth and seventh. Only one advanced past second base, but she was quickly left standing at third on a ground ball to second to end the sixth inning.
 
Buster completed her 14^th complete game of the season to earn her 16^th win, matching Mikayla Brown (2017) for the most wins by a Demon pitcher since 2013. With just two strikeouts in the game, Buster relied on her defense for the other 19 outs, getting a near perfect split with nine fly ball out and 10 groundouts.
 
"She wants the ball in those high-pressure moments, and I trust her with it," Fuller said about Buster. "She trusts her defense and it all kind of works together. As the game goes on, she just gets stronger so when you have a pitcher like that you can beat anybody."
 
The Demons and Lumberjacks continue their series with a Good Friday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Only the first game of Friday's pair will air on ESPN+.