NATCHITOCHES – Jordan Nipp’s go-ahead single in the seventh inning, followed by a bases-loaded clearing double from Anthony Jones sparked a 6-run inning for Northwestern State as the Demons clinched a spot in the Southland Conference baseball tournament with Saturday’s 9-5 win over Lamar.

The win for NSU (26-24, 15-10 SLC) evened the series against Lamar (29-20, 17-9 SLC) at one game apiece and moves the Demons to within a game-and-a-half of the Cardinals for first place in the East Division standings.

“Offensively, we really came through today,” said Demon skipper J.P. Davis.  “That seventh inning was huge.  They made a few mistakes, walked and hit some guys, but of course, the big blow was the bases clearing double by Anthony Jones.”

With the game tied at 3-all heading into the bottom of the seventh, NSU designated hitter Matthew McGlathery singled then advanced to second off a sacrifice bunt from shortstop Robert Gallegos.

After Micah Tipton pinch ran for McGlathery at second, Nipp broke the tie with a single up the middle to put NSU up 4-3.

First baseman Mike Jaworski followed with a single the Justin O’Neal walked to load the bases for Jones, who found a wide open gap in right-centerfield to clear the bases and put the Demons up 7-3.

NSU wasn’t finished, however.

Second baseman Chase Lyles followed with a walk, then both runners moved up a bag off a wild pitch from Matt Morgal – Lamar’s fourth of five pitchers in the game.  And with Lamar catcher Jeff Vickers taking his time getting to the wild pitch that bounded towards NSU’s dugout, Jones shifted into gear and scored to make it 8-3.

“How about that hustle,” said Davis of Jones’ score.  “Scoring from second base on a wild pitch, that’s indicative of Northwestern baseball.  That’s how we should be playing every game.”

Third baseman Joe Urtzuastegui was then hit by a pitch, and with Lyles on third, the two executed a double steal with Lyles scoring when Urtuzuastegui got caught up in a rundown from first to second.  An attempt to get Lyles at the plate was unsuccessful and NSU went up 9-3.

Kyle Broughton (4-5), who picked up the win in a relief effort, held off a ninth-inning rally by the Cardinals to pick up the win.  Broughton threw 3.0 innings and gave up two runs and three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

Starting pitcher Heath Hennigan lasted 6.0 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

“I thought Heath really battled today,” said Davis.  “It’s tough love because he doesn’t get the win, but he has gone 6-7 innings all year long and has given us a chance.  And that’s pretty special.”

A day after garnering just five hits in a 9-2 loss on Friday, the Demons put 11 on the board on Saturday with Jaworski, Jones, and McGlathery each getting four hits.  Jones also knocked in three runs and scored two of his own.

 “We didn’t come out with any energy last night and it showed on the scoreboard,” said Davis.  “I felt like we came out with more energy today, and there were some situations where it seemed the momentum was going back-and-forth, I felt like we took it and we were more competitive today.”

Lamar took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after back-to-back two-out hits from Steven Tucker and Travis Dunson.

The Demons tied it in the second on a RBI single up the middle from Urtzuastegui to score O’Neal after O’Neal led-off the inning with a double.

NSU took a 3-1 lead in the fourth on a two-run single from Dylan Libadisos but the Cardinals tied it in the fifth on RBI singles by Brian Taylor and David Moore.

Lamar’s Brian Needham (3-4) took the loss in relief after giving up four runs on six hits in 3.1 innings of work.

The teams will play the rubber game of the series at 1 on Sunday.  Prior to the game, eight NSU seniors will be recognized.