By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
HOUSTON – A fast start and a flashy finish helped the Northwestern State baseball team salvage the finale of a Southland Conference series at Houston Christian.
The Demons swatted three first-inning home runs to build a big lead and turned three double plays, including two in the final two innings, en route to a 10-5 win against HCU on Sunday afternoon at Husky Field.
“I’m darn proud of the win because of what it means in the way we responded, the way we found complementary baseball, the way we got out to a fast start and the way, especially in the middle and later innings, that we were able to hold momentum on our side,” second-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. “The things we feel ailed us not only Friday and Saturday, but going back to Tuesday, some of the things that ailed us in our totality, we answered those challenges today. That’s the mark of a good team. That’s the mark of a gritty team.”
The Demons (21-16, 13-8) jumped HCU starter Ben Smith for five straight hits to start the game, including back-to-back home runs from Balin Valentine and Rocco Gump.
Valentine’s three-run home run and Gump’s solo shot were the first two of three home runs in the opening inning.
The dagger that drove Smith (3-3) from the game came from catcher Mason Wray, whose first career home run capped the seven-run inning.
Wray ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Smith, depositing it over the left-field wall.
“I went in there knowing he had been throwing first-pitch fastballs quite heavily,” said Wray, who added a third-inning double as part of a two-hit day. “My dad’s been telling me to jump on that first-pitch fastball, so I said, ‘Heck, yeah.’ He put that first-pitch fastball in there, and the rest is history.”
Sunday marked the first time Wray started a game since Game 1 of a March 29 doubleheader against Nicholls.
His return helped guide Trent Hillen (5-1) and Wesley Marien through an HCU lineup that scored 22 runs in the first two games of the series.
“The person that he is, that’s what he brings to the table,” Bertrand said of Wray. “He leads this team through example, and he leads this team through energy. He leads not just through a good performance, but that toughness and that grit. Mason’s the type of person Demon baseball is built upon.”
Hillen surrendered a three-run home run to Parker Edwards in the first inning then gutted out five solid innings on a hot, humid afternoon.
After some soft contact allowed HCU (22-12, 14-4) to cut the lead to three and load the bases with two outs in the fifth, Hillen struck out Trevor Roper to end the inning and end his day.
Hillen’s final out set up the longest outing of Marien’s career and led to his first career save.
Marien tossed four scoreless innings, again holding the momentum the Demons gained with a two-out, two-run single from Colin Rains in the sixth inning.
Rains’ hit came after Nick Ferazzi threatened to squelch a first-and-third, nobody-out situation. Ferazzi struck out two Demons before Rains lined a solid single to center to score Valentine and Gump.
“Within those first couple of at-bats, the timing wasn’t what (Rains) wanted,” Bertrand said. “In the game’s biggest moment, he was able to settle himself and get the pitch he was looking for. In the biggest moment of the game, he was the simplest. That swing was short and compact and exactly what the team needed.”
From there, the Demons did not score again, but Marien made that a footnote.
A freshman from Baton Rouge, Marien spun four shutout innings of relief, striking out two. After previously working two innings three times, Marien doubled that, tossing 30 of his 44 pitches for strikes.
“They’ve been hitting all weekend,” Marien said of the Huskies. “I tried not to think about that. I felt good in the bullpen warming up. I tried to get ahead of hitters and see what happens.”
What happened twice in the final two innings was Marien inducing double plays, including a sparkling game-ending twin killing started when Gump made a leaping snag of a Katcher Halligan liner and doubled Edwards off at second base.
“Rocco’s a stud,” Marien said. “Every ball that gets hit to him, you basically, in your head, count it as an out. Off the bat, it was hit pretty hard. I thought maybe he had a chance, but Rocco jumped up and snagged it and doubled him off.”
The Demons return to action Tuesday when they host LSU-Alexandria. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Brown-Stroud Field.
Northwestern State 10, Houston Christian 5
NSU 700 102 000 – 10 17 0
HCU 300 200 000 – 5 12 2
W – Trent Hillen (5-1). L – Ben Smith (3-3). S – Wesley Marien (1). 2B – NSU, Mason Wray. HCU, Parker Edwards, Luke Bard, Matthew Leiterman. HR – NSU, Balin Valentine (5), Rocco Gump (5), Wray (1), Braden Benton (6). HCU, Edwards (7). Highlights: NSU, Reese Lipoma 2-4; Valentine 4-5, HR, 3 RBIs; Gump 3-4, HR, RBI; Benton 3-5, HR, RBI; Wray 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBIs. HCU, Tevis Payne 2-4; Edwards 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBIs; Bard 2-3, 2B.
Records: Northwestern State 21-16, 13-8; Houston Christian 22-12, 14-4.