Peytons’ Place: Graham’s relief, Davis’ big hit give Demons doubleheader split with Little Rock

NATCHITOCHES – As a whole, the Northwestern State baseball team nearly took advantage of a late-game opportunity in the opening game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Little Rock.

In the nightcap, junior pitcher Peyton Graham seized upon one presented to him.

The result was a doubleheader split with the visiting Trojans with both teams taking 7-5 victories – Little Rock in the opener, the Demons in the second game – at Brown-Stroud Field.

“Baseball’s a lot about responding,” third-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. “There are things that happen in games that are within your control and things that happen outside of your control. Sometimes, the other team plays well. They did a good job (in game one). It’s good to see us get early offense in the second game. Nathan Jones was really good. It was unfortunate we couldn’t extend him.”

Jones (1-0) made his first appearance since Feb. 17 and threw four smooth innings before being removed after hitting his predetermined pitch count.

A senior right-hander from Shreveport, Jones allowed only one hit, a fourth-inning single by Trace Jordan. Behind Jones and an offense that benefited from a late surge in the first game, the Demons (5-4) built a 6-0 lead after five innings.

Northwestern State scored in each of its first five at-bats in the second game, tallying single runs in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings sandwiched around Tyler Smith’s two-run third-inning triple.

While the Trojans (2-9) treated the second game as a staff day following two innings from starter Ty Gordon (1-1), Jones and David Hodo limited Little Rock to three hits in the first six innings.

In the seventh, the Trojans began to solve Hodo and did their best to replicate NSU’s first-game rally in which the Demons used a four-run eighth inning to erase a 5-1 Little Rock lead.

The Trojans used four hits and a Northwestern State error to pull within 6-5 with a man on second when Barbier summoned Graham from the bullpen.

After hitting the first batter he faced, Graham struck out Chase Coker to strand a pair of runners on the bases and preserve the Demons’ one-run lead.

“That’s the thing, when you get your first opportunity in Division I baseball, it can be a little tough for you,” Barbier said of Graham, who allowed a home run and two runs in his one-inning debut against Southern on Sunday.

“You don’t want to try to not mess up. That’s what he did. It was good to see him settle down in a big moment. We needed him. We used a lot of relievers in the first game, and I wasn’t going to bring them back in the second game. We needed him, and a lot of times when you have those needs, other guys stand up, and he did today.”

Graham’s strikeout of Coker ended an 11-batter inning for the Trojans, but it was the sixth hitter in the Demons’ half of the seventh who delivered in the clutch for the home team.

Peyton Davis’ two-out single to left center scored pinch runner Larson Fontenot with a pivotal insurance run that doubled Northwestern State’s lead.

From there, Graham delivered two scoreless innings, highlighted by an eighth-inning double play and a gutsy 3-2 breaking ball that froze Christian Reyes with one out in the ninth, to pick up his first Division I save.

“It was just rhythm, tempo,” Graham said. “I had to get in my own rhythm, my own tempo. I pitch differently than a lot of people. I had to figure out what I wanted, get ahead and stay ahead.”

By hanging on, the Demons erased a tough loss in the opening game of the doubleheader.

Little Rock starter Jose Torres quieted the Demons through six innings of one-run ball while the Trojans took advantage of a pair of NSU errors and put up five runs (three earned) against Jerry Maddox in five-plus innings.

Once Torres left the game after throwing 96 pitches in six innings, the Demons made their move against relievers Ethan Daily and Donavin Buck (1-1).

Northwestern State did not hit a lot of balls hard in a four-run eighth inning but tied the game on an RBI infield single by Caleb Ricca, an RBI fielder’s choice by Luke Watson, a pinch-hit RBI single by J.P. Lagreco and a game-tying squeeze bunt by Austin Stegall.

Buck escaped further damage and was rewarded when Troy Alexander dumped a two-run double into left field to snap the 5-all tie in the ninth inning.

By holding off Little Rock’s rally in the second game, though, the Demons avoided the sweep and picked up their first series win of the season.

“That’s the mark of a good team that can respond,” Barbier said. “When they made their big run, Peyton (Davis) got the big hit to respond. On the other side, it makes you sit back a little bit. Big time by Peyton to get that hit.”

The Demons begin a four-game road trip with a Tuesday night matchup at Louisiana Tech. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.

Little Rock 7-5, Northwestern State 5-7
Game 1
LR 011 012 002 – 7 12 0
NSU 000 010 040 – 5 6 2
W – Donavin Buck (1-1). L – Tyler Pigott (0-1). 2B – LR, Ryan Benivdez 3; Garrett Scott; Trace Jordan; Troy Alexander. NSU, Luke Watson. 3B – NSU, Jeffrey Elkins 2. Highlights: LR, Benavidez 3-5, 3 2Bs; Jordan 3-5, 2B, 2 RBIs; Alexander 1-1, 2B, 2 RBIs. NSU, Elkins 2-4, 2 3Bs, RBI.

Game 2
LR 000 000 500 – 5 7 3
NSU 112 110 10x – 7 10 1
W – Nathan Jones (1-0). L – Ty Gordon (0-1). S – Peyton Graham (1). 2B – LR, Chase Coker; Troy Alexander; Josh Nowak. 3B – NSU, Sam Taylor; Tyler Smith. Highlights: LR, Trace Jordan 2-3. NSU, Taylor 3-5, 3B, RBI; Smith 2-3, 3B, 2 RBIs; Lenni Kunert 2-4.
Records; Little Rock 2-9