Veteran Demons set to open baseball season at Houston

HOUSTON – A season ago, the Northwestern State baseball team did something for the first time in program history, winning the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament title.

As the Demons open the 2019 season, they do so on the road, something they haven’t done since the 2015 season. Northwestern State begins the season Friday night at Houston with a 6:30 first pitch at Schroeder Park. The three-game series also includes a 6:30 p.m. Saturday game and Sunday’s 1 p.m. series finale.

“This is the first time since I’ve been the head coach that we open on the road,” third-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. “I always like going on the road because you jell more as a team. You spend a lot of time together. It will be neat to see how they react to playing in somebody else’s park to open the season.”

Northwestern State (38-24 in 2018) returns 25 lettermen, including its entire weekend rotation, which maintains its order from the second half of the 2018 season.

The all-senior rotation features left-hander Ridge Heisler (7-3, 3.40) taking the ball in the opener followed by right-handers Jerry Maddox (8-3, 1.88) and Nathan Jones (4-6, 3.84) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

That trio, which started the final seven weekends of the season, is backed up by a deep bullpen that has seen a number of arms flash improved potential from a season ago.

“What was neat to see this fall was the guys who have been here, how much better they’ve become,” Barbier said. “Guys like Nathan Jones, who have been here for four years and have improved every single year. Kyle Swanson’s one of those guys. Cullen (McDonald) has improved tremendously.

“Robert (Burke) has gotten so much better. Austin Reich is a special talent of an arm. He’s been really good this fall and early spring.”

Opening the season at Houston (38-25) gives a handful of Demons a homecoming of sorts. Six members of the Northwestern State program have hometowns in the greater Houston area.

“We recruit a lot from Houston,” Barbier said. “We have a ton of alumni down there. It gets our name out there playing those guys. It’s great for the parents of current players to drive 20 minutes instead of four hours. It should be a fun trip.”

The series with the Cougars starts an early-season schedule that will show the Demons where they stand. Much like Northwestern State, Houston advanced to the NCAA Regionals a season ago, splitting four games in the Chapel Hill Regional.

The three-game series is part of a four-game, season-opening stretch against teams that reached the postseason a year ago. Northwestern State caps the run by hosting preseason No. 1 LSU on Feb. 20 in the Demons’ home opener.

“You want to be a different team by the end of the season,” Barbier said. “You want to get better as the season goes on. This will be a great test. It’s always a good test going up against teams that are perennially in regionals. We’re a regional team, too. We’ll go out and compete no matter who we face.”

In addition to returning all three of its weekend pitchers, the Demons bring back six of their nine hitters from their daily lineup, including all four starting infielders – third baseman Sam Taylor, shortstop Caleb Ricca, second baseman Luke Watson and first baseman Peyton Davis — from the greater part of the second half of 2018.

While Northwestern State returns a veteran club, there are newcomers who will factor into the 54-game season as well.

“There’s something about competition that makes everyone better,” Barbier said. “It’s nice to have options.”

One position where the Demons know a newcomer will make an impact is behind the plate. NSU does not return a player who caught a single inning in 2018 after losing seniors Kelsey Richard and David Fry.

The trio of senior Jakob Nunez, junior Marshall Skinner and redshirt freshman Tyler Thibodeaux all likely will see playing time throughout the season.

“Because we need to play multiple catchers to keep those guys fresh, we’ll see bits of all three of those guys,” Barbier said. “The catching position’s really important. It will be interesting to see how our staff jells with the new catching group after having two main guys last year.”

Much as newcomers Hayden and Hilton Brown give the Demons options on the infield, the NSU outfield has plenty of available players to fill the three spots.

NSU returns Lenni Kunert, who ended the 2018 season as the everyday left fielder, right fielder Tyler Smith, J.P. Lagreco, Austin Stegall and Larson Fontenot, who was NSU’s top pinch runner a season ago.

Newcomer Jeffrey Elkins, a transfer from UL Lafayette, also could find himself in the mix for playing time.

Perhaps the biggest difference for the Demons as they enter 2019 is the level of outside expectations. A run to the first Southland Conference Tournament title in school history and an NCAA Regional berth will do that.

“We discussed those things, but it’s time to move on,” Barbier said. “It was time to move on when we got back in August. The guys have responded well.”

Series probables
Friday: NSU LHP Ridge Heisler (7-3, 3.40) at UH LHP Tyler Bielamowicz (0-2, 11.00)
Saturday: NSU RHP Jerry Maddox (8-3, 1.88) at UH RHP Ryan Randel (5-4, 4.58)
Sunday: NSU RHP Nathan Jones (4-6. 3,84) at UH LHP Lael Lockhart Jr. (1-2, 6.64)