By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – There is a statement Northwestern State third baseman Rocco Gump tells starting pitcher Trent Hillen before every inning.
“Every time I get on the mound, Rocco looks at me and says, ‘We’ve got you, and you’ve got us,’” Hillen said.
Gump made that comment nine times Sunday afternoon in the series finale of a three-game Southland Conference series as Hillen spun a complete-game, four-hit shutout of homestanding Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in an 8-0 series-clinching victory for the Demons.
Freshman Hudson Brignac, a former Benton star, went 2-for-3.
In spinning Northwestern State’s first complete-game shutout in more than two years, Hillen struck out five and threw 70 of his 100 pitches for strikes.
Hillen (3-1) capped his second straight win with a final-pitch called third strike as the Demons (11-8, 5-4) won for the fifth time in six games.
“In the bullpen, (my stuff) was kind of iffy,” Hillen said. “I felt like I was off after the first inning. I figured it out, got downhill and let my defense work. I didn’t feel I had my best stuff until later in the game. I just let my defense work and show out.”
Hillen and the Demons needed that defense through the first half of the game as Islander right-hander Easten Smith (0-1) nearly matched Hillen for five innings.
Smith’s lone mistake in his five-inning, one-run outing was a 2-1 second-inning pitch that Clay Jung smashed to right field for his first home run of the season.
Playing approximately two hours from his hometown of El Campo, Texas, Jung’s blast stood as the lone of the game until the Demons broke the game open against the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (8-13, 1-5) bullpen.
“During (batting practice), we were figuring some things out, working with the coaches,” Jung said. “Things haven’t been going the right way recently. I stuck with the plan, got something up in the zone I could handle. This is the closest game my family’s able to come to. It was nice to hit one when they could travel. I want to thank the guys who had my back all year.”
The Northwestern defense had Hillen’s back throughout the game.
The junior right-hander scattered four hits, including a bad-hop double to start the game, and sprinkled in his five strikeouts at key times. One came in the first inning when Hillen fanned cleanup hitter Isaac Webb with two on and one out.
Hillen found his groove in the middle innings after inducing an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play in the third. Starting with that hitter, Hillen retired seven in a row and 10 of the next 11 Islanders he faced.
In addition to pitching around a pair of errors, Hillen kept the Islanders to an 0-for-4 mark with runners in scoring position. Following Karson Krowka’s leadoff double to start the game, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi did not send another runner into scoring position until there were two outs in the seventh inning.
Hillen ended that threat by retiring pinch hitter Austin Russell on a first-pitch fly ball to right.
“There aren’t enough words to express the amount of pride and how happy we are for Trent in the way that game unfolded,” second-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. “Absolute warrior mentality. Early in the game, he faced quite a bit of adversity and overcame it. The beginning of that game was quite emotional. There were some long sits on the bench.
“A complete-game shutout, yes, but there was so much that was learned from how Trent went about his business.”
Hillen’s four-hitter was the Demons’ first complete-game shutout since Cal Carver blanked Alabama A&M on March 10, 2023. It is Northwestern’s first complete-game shutout of a Southland Conference opponent since Nathan Jones did so at Stephen F. Austin on April 27, 2019.
Hillen made Jung’s early blast stand up until the Demons were able to take advantage of some wildness from a parade of Islander relievers.
Five Texas A&M-Corpus Christi relievers combined to walk seven Demons in four innings as Northwestern scored seven runs in its final four at-bats, including three straight two-run innings from the sixth through the eighth.
“We played defense well enough until we were able to extend the lead,” Bertrand said. “Once we were able to extend the lead, we built trust in the way we were grabbing zeroes for Trent. The learning that continues to take place – how we can use that information over the next 30-something games – we can become something really, really special if we continue to do those things.”
The Demons return to action Tuesday as they continue their seven-game road trip by facing Grambling. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in Grambling.
Northwestern State 8, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0
NSU 010 002 221 – 8 8 2
AMCC 000 000 000 – 0 4 1
W – Trent Hillen (3-1). L – Easten Smith (0-1). 2B – NSU, Bryce Johnson. AMCC, Karson Krowka. HR – NSU, Clay Jung (1). Highlights: NSU, Johnson 2-2, 2B, 2 RBIs; Daniel Burroway 2-4, 2 RBIs; Hudson Brignac 2-3.
Records: Northwestern State 11-8, 5-4; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 8-13, 1-5.
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