By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NATCHITOCHES – The first doubleheader of the 2025 season provided plenty of opportunities for the Northwestern State baseball team to test its resolve.
At least for Saturday afternoon, the Demons answered every challenge, using virtually every part of their roster to complete a sweep of a Southland Conference twinbill of Nicholls with 9-4 and 9-5 victories at Brown-Stroud Field.
“What a resilient group of men,” second-year head coach Chris Bertrand said. “I’m proud of two things. I’m proud of the responsive nature of the entire ballclub for the entire day, and I’m proud of the idea that we picked each other up. When you look at it, we demonstrated a responsive nature even though some of that was self-inflicted, but it’s responsive nonetheless.”
After an early offensive barrage led the Demons (17-9, 9-5) to a win in the opener, Northwestern started quickly in the second game.
Balin Valentine’s three-run home run – his second homer in the past three games – highlighted a four-run third inning that gave the Demons a 5-0 lead.
The Demons truly could have broken the game open in the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out against Nicholls reliever Koen van’T Klooster before van’T Klooster escaped the jam without a run scoring.
Building off the momentum – and a Demon pitching staff that issued three walks and hit three batters in the frame – the Colonels (11-17, 5-9) tied the game with a five-run fifth.
Nicholls reliever Harper Jordan (3-3) needed just eight pitches to face the minimum in the fifth before the Colonels loaded the bases with nobody out against Northwestern freshman right-hander Wesley Marien.
Pitching for the first time in a Southland Conference game, Marien (1-0) responded with back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to keep the game tied.
“Wes picked himself up and picked our ballclub up when we needed it,” Bertrand said.
Just as Nicholls did after Northwestern failed to deliver in a bases-loaded situation, the Demons responded with a three-run sixth inning.
Samuel Stephenson’s RBI single through the right side snapped the 5-all tie and put the Demons ahead to stay before Rocco Gump slammed a two-run double off the left-field wall.
“They were saying it had some sink and some run inside,” Stephenson said. “I was trying to get some extension, maybe get the barrel out. I ended up staying of the ball, going the other way and not flying open with the front shoulder.”
From there, junior right-hander Caden Fiveash worked three scoreless innings to collect his first career save.
It was the second three-inning save of the day for Northwestern, which had not recorded a save in its first 24 games of the season. Freshman Carter White spun three shutout innings in the opening game of the doubleheader to complete the Demons’ first save of the year.
“We were just both happy to go out and compete for the team, but it’s definitely a help confidence-wise when the guys have the bats going and they’re playing good defense,” Fiveash said. “All through the ups and downs today, we kept our heads high and took both games, which was huge.”
Fiveash induced one of the two double plays the Demons turned in the nightcap, a 6-4-3 twin killing that erased a leadoff walk in the seventh inning.
In the opener, Northwestern struck first against Nicholls starter Nuno Parache (1-1) on a Gump sacrifice fly, starting a string of four straight scoring innings.
The Demons scored two runs in each of the next three innings in a variety of ways against Parache, driving him from the game after four innings.
Former Haughton star Colin Rains had two of his career-high four hits in those run-scoring innings, including a two-out, two-run double in the third inning. Stephenson joined the big-hit parade an inning later, connecting on his third home run of the season – a two-run shot that bounced off the top of the left-center field wall.
Stephenson was unsure of the result of the play, thinking Nicholls left fielder Chase Jans had potentially come up with a catch in the left-center field gap. Instead, his home run gave the Demons a five-run lead.
Nicholls whittled the lead to three against Dylan Marionneaux (3-2) before the right-hander and White combined to retire 13 of the final 15 Colonels hitters.
Meanwhile, the Demons put together a two-run insurance frame in the eighth on a pinch-hit RBI double from Braden Benton and a heady run-scoring play from pinch runner Cort Pryor.
Pryor went from second to third on a Hudson Brignac single to left. With the play in front of him, Pryor saw Jans hesitate on where to throw the ball and, when Jans flipped it to second, Pryor zipped home with the final run of the opening game.
Benton’s big day off the bench wasn’t through.
Leading off the seventh inning of the nightcap, Benton ambushed the first pitch he saw from Cole Simoneaux, slamming it out to left field for his second home run of the season and the Demons’ second pinch-hit homer of the year.
“We know he’s capable of that,” Bertrand said. “We know the ball jumping off the bat is what Braden’s really good at. He hasn’t seen results, but I’m proud of the idea that when he isn’t in the game, he’s Clay (Jung’s) biggest fan. When he’s in the game, the dugout is his biggest fan.
“Those guys buying into their role and buying into being ready when your number is called, take advantage of it. There are guys up and down the roster like that, but Braden sticks out today.”
The series concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday with a matchup of right-handers. Nicholls will send Michael Lindsey (0-2, 6.00) to the mound against Northwestern’s Trent Hillen (3-1, 3.89).
Northwestern State 9-9, Nicholls 4-5
Game 1
NICH 011 020 000 – 4 7 0
NSU 122 200 02x – 9 13 0
W – Dylan Marionneaux (3-2). L – Nuno Parache (1-1). S – Carter White (1). 2B – NICH, Jaden Collura. NSU, Reese Lipoma, Clay Jung, Colin Rains, Braden Benton, Hudson Brignac. HR – NSU, Samuel Stephenson (3). Highlights: NICH, Chase Jans 2-4; Carter Jenkins 2-4, RBI. NSU, Lipoma 2-4, 2B; Rains 4-4, 2B, 3 RBIs.
Game 2
NICH 000 050 000 – 5 6 2
NSU 104 003 10x – 9 11 1
W – Wesley Marien (1-0). L – Harper Jordan (3-3). S – Caden Fiveash (1). 2B – NICH, Chase Jans. NSU, Samuel Stephenson, Rocco Gump. HR – NSU, Balin Valentine (2). Highlights: NICH, Aaron Biediger 2-4, RBI. NSU, Stephenson 3-4, 2B, RIB; Gump 2-5, 2B, 2 RBIs.
Records: Nicholls 11-17, 5-9; Northwestern State 17-9, 9-5.
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