By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NATCHITOCHES – The result of Braden Benton’s swing at a 1-0 slider in the seventh inning of Sunday’s Northwestern State baseball game against Central Arkansas was a grand slam.
But it was what went into that game-changing swing that impressed second-year head coach Chris Bertrand.
“Before the at-bat, after they made the pitching change, listening to them talk about the scouting report and listening to him talk about having a plan, he was talking to Clay (Jung) and he was talking to Reese (Lipoma),” Bertrand said. “He goes up there with a plan, and he executed the plan to perfection. Yes, a big swing. Yes, a home run, and we’re very proud of that, but our guys are starting to become a very savvy baseball team.”
Benton’s first career grand slam broke open a two-run game and allowed the Demons to cruise to an 11-3 win and an opening-weekend series victory.
With the Demons (2-1) leading 4-2, the Bears turned to redshirt freshman Jake Jones to start the seventh inning.
Jones walked Lipoma and gave up a single to Samuel Stephenson before walking Rocco Gump to load the bases.
Central Arkansas (1-2) turned to Hunter Alexander, who led the Bears with eight saves a season ago. Two pitches later, Benton turned a breaking ball into the Demons’ third grand slam in its past five home games dating to the 2024 season.
Benton, a junior from Lubbock, Texas, watched the ball fly toward left-center field unsure if it had enough to escape Brown-Stroud Field’s notoriously unforgiving power alley.
“(Alexander) is mainly a slider guy,” Benton said. “I was trying to see it up, and I got my pitch up and I drove it. I knew it was going to be deep, and it was going to be close. The more I kept running down the first-base line, the more it kept traveling.”
Benton’s grand slam was the second game-turning home run of the day for Northwestern State, following Samuel Stephenson’s tie-breaking two-run home run off Coleman Macrae (0-1) in the third inning.
Stephenson’s swing was a bit of good fortune for the Demons as he had squared to bunt twice only to see Macrae miss with his first two pitches.
Given a 2-0 advantage count, Stephenson did not miss.
“I sold out for a fastball,” Stephenson said. “I knew it was going to be there, and I got lucky enough and caught a barrel. I’ve been working on it and making (power) a more consistent thing. It worked out, but in the long run, I’ll get the bunt down the first time.”
Throughout his first season in charge of the Northwestern program, Bertrand preached the importance and the pursuit of complementary baseball.
His team delivered that type of performance Sunday.
The Northwestern offense answered a first-inning run against starter Trent Hillen (1-0) by manufacturing a two-out run that came home via a Balin Valentine RBI single.
Hillen responded with three straight scoreless innings, allowing Stephenson’s blast to turn the tide. When the Bears scratched out a fifth inning run and were threatening with runners on second and third, sophomore right-hander Austin Anderson entered and retired the next two Central Arkansas hitters to maintain a one-run lead.
The offense then exploited the Bear bullpen for the second straight game, scoring seven runs in the final two innings. That explosion came after the Demons tallied eight runs in their final two at-bats of Saturday’s run-rule victory.
“There are so many great lessons we can take from this weekend,” Bertrand said. “Last year, we used the words complementary baseball. Today, among the three games this weekend, was probably our most complementary baseball game. I’m proud of those guys.”
In addition to his first home run of the season, Stephenson notched the first three-hit game of his Demon career, going 3-for-4 while Colin Rains added two hits for Northwestern.
The Demons return to action Wednesday when they open a four-game road trip with a 6 p.m. matchup at ULM.
Northwestern State 11, Central Arkansas 3
UCA 100 010 001 – 3 9 0
NSU 102 001 43x – 11 10 1
W – Trent Hillen (1-0). L – Coleman Macrae (0-1). 2B – UCA, Nathan Negre, Luke Carner. NSU, Colin Rains. HR – NSU, Samuel Stephenson (1), Braden Benton (1). Highlights: UCA, Negre 2-5, 2B; Bryce Cermenelli 2-4. NSU, Stephenson 3-4, HR, 3 RBIs; Rains 2-4.
Records: Central Arkansas 1-2; Northwestern State 2-1.