Demons visit for weekend series
3/28/2014 9:20:00 AM | Baseball
For a stretch spanning two weeks, the baseball Bearkats were on the road with a couple of long trips to New Orleans and Conway, Ark., for a pair of conference series. The road trip did not go as planned. Sam Houston State was swept by Central Arkansas during a four-game losing streak, which knocked the Kats out of the national rankings.
This week, the Bearkats rebounded by upsetting 22nd-ranked Texas A&M on Tuesday night. A night later, SHSU rallied to beat Southland Conference foe McNeese State 3-1, but that game doesn't count in the league standings.
Looking to climb back to the top of the Southland standings, the two-time defending champ Bearkats host Northwestern State in a conference series beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.
“Last week was tough and yesterday was good, obviously. It's good to get two,” said Bearkats center fielder Colt Atwood after Wednesday's come-from-behind victory over McNeese State.
“That's really going to help us going into the weekend. We need to win a couple this weekend to get back on track in the conference. There's not a better way to do it than to win two in the midweek.”
While the Bearkats have struggled a bit in the last couple of weeks, Northwestern State has been getting into a rhythm.
The Demons (4-2 in Southland Conference, 12-11 overall) have won five of their last seven games, including two of three from both Oral Roberts and Stephen F. Austin.
Northwestern State has five players batting better than .300, including third baseman Chase Daughdrill and first baseman Caleb Dugas, who have also driven in a combined 31 runs.
On the mound, Adam Oller (2-0, 2.67 ERA) will be the Demons' starter in Friday's series opener, while John Gault (3-2, 2.65) will get the ball Saturday.
“I know they're a much more improved ballclub,” Bearkats head coach David Pierce said of the Demons. “(Coach Lane Burroughs) has got some players that he has been trying to get in. They're just a much more improved team. They're pitching and playing defense.”
Playing back at Don Sanders Stadium for a conference series is a welcome sight for the Bearkats, who swept Cal State Northridge in their last weekend series at home.
“It's a relief. This field is incredible,” Atwood said of Don Sanders Stadium. “Going other places makes you not take this for granted, and being in front of your home fans and not getting on a bus, it's nice.
“If we pitch and play defense, then we'll win a lot of games if we don't walk people or get timely hits. That's baseball.
“You're not always going to do it, but when you do you're going to win a lot of games,” Atwood concluded.
Through most of the season, the Bearkats have been plagued by fielding problems, which came back to haunt them last week.
In Wednesday's victory over the Cowboys, the Bearkats played error-free ball for just the second time this season. That's something the Kats want to see turn into a trend as they hit the midway point of the regular season this weekend.
“We've got 55 regular-season games and you're going to have those periods,” Pierce said. “We had eight games on the road. As miserable as it was to go 4-4, I think we grew up and learned a lot.
“I think a sign of a good team is that characteristic of coming back like we have the last two days. It's not just about that one week. That week was devastating and we learned from it.
“We talk all the time that it's not so much about the opponent as it is ourselves. It's about us going out and taking care of our business.
“When you pitch and play defense, you're always in the game. We've got to have that to sustain any kind of consistency.”
