By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations; featured photo courtesy of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Athletics
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Pitching plus defense plus timely hitting is an equation that has paid dividends for college baseball teams for years.
It did so for Northwestern State on Friday night as the Demons blanked Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 5-0 in a Southland Conference series opener at Chapman Field.
“A complete win, and I think for the most part, a complementary baseball game,” second-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. “When you look at it, it’s not only a huge win as far as the scoreboard but a big win in what we can take from it. Any time your pitching staff puts up nine zeroes, you have to be proud of the effort. What Slim (Dylan Marionneaux) and Carter (White) were able to do today is absolutely incredible. It can’t go unnoticed the game (pitching coach) Dan (Hlad) called, and the way they continued to overcome adversity and make pitches, especially deep in counts.”
What also cannot go unnoticed was the Demons’ defense.
Northwestern (10-7, 4-3) backed Marionneaux’s longest outing of his career with three pivotal double plays.
First baseman Daniel Burroway was involved in all three, starting two of them – including one in the first inning that helped Marionneaux (1-2) erase a two-on, nobody-out jam.
That stood as the biggest twin killing until Burroway started another in the fifth inning. After the Islanders (7-12, 0-4) strung together three straight one-out singles to load the bases, Marionneaux induced a chopper to first that Burroway fielded before tagging the bag and firing home to catcher Mason Wray, who dropped the tag to complete the Demons’ third double play of the day.
“They played their butts off,” Marionneaux said. “I know with the wind tonight it was not easy for them as well. Them adjusting to that in a park like this was great to see. I’m always going to have their back, and I know they’re going to have mine.”
The Demons’ first road win of the season was jump-started by an offense that scored first for the first time in seven Southland games.
Reese Lipoma and Balin Valentine jumped Islander starter Zach Garcia (2-2) for consecutive doubles to start the game and give Northwestern a 1-0 lead two batters into the game.
Braden Benton’s two-out RBI double to dead center field extended the advantage to 2-0, one that Marionneaux and the Demon defense made stand up.
Marionneaux had just one clean inning – the fourth – and it came after an unusual double play helped him work a scoreless third inning.
After walking Cade Sanchez to start the Ithird, Marionneaux induced a low line drive to right fielder Bryce Johnson that Johnson caught and fired to Burroway at first to erase the leadoff walk.
“I saw the ball pretty low and hard,” Johnson said. “(Center fielder) Reese (Lipoma) told me in. I saw (Sanchez) take a really big lead, and I trusted my arm and our 6-6 first baseman to go out and make a play, too.”
After Garcia’s rough first inning, the preseason all-conference first-teamer settled in and retired 14 straight until Rocco Gump’s two-out single in the sixth.
In the seventh, the Demons took advantage of some struggles by the Islander defense to double their lead.
Burroway’s fly ball to left was dropped by Trey Cruz for a run-scoring, two-run error, and Burroway scored the second run when first baseman Austin Russell could not cleanly handle former Benton star Hudson Brignac’s slow roller up the first-base line.
“We scored runs off what is an all-conference arm,” Bertrand said. “Our guys got off to a fast start and executed the game plan, which is a credit to (hitting coach) Billy (Henley) and the work he has put in. We learned how to extend a lead today. Everybody who came off the bench scored a run, got hits and contributed. You couldn’t ask for a more complete effort from the ball club tonight.”
Lipoma and Brooks Leonard each had two of the Demons’ nine hits while no Demon drove in more than one run.
Mason Persons paced Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with three hits.
The series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday. Right-hander Tyler Bryan (1-1, 7.85) takes the mound for Northwestern State against right-hander Bryson Shea (1-1, 4.26).
Northwestern State 5, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0
NSU 200 000 201 – 5 9 1
AMCC 000 000 000 – 0 8 1
W – Dylan Marionneaux (1-2). L – Zach Garcia (2-2). 2B – NSU, Reese Lipoma 2, Balin Valentine, Braden Benton. Highlights: NSU, Lipoma 2-5, 2 2Bs, RBI; Brooks Leonard 2-2. AMCC, Cade Sanchez 2-4; Mason Persons 3-4.
Records: Northwestern State 10-7, 4-3; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 7-12, 0-4.