Junior outfielder Balin Valentine did something Friday night people rarely do, drilling a home run over the center field wall at Brown-Stroud Field. He was rewarded for that – and the rest of his past four games performance – Monday afternoon, collecting his first Southland Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week honor in a vote by league sports information directors.

Before Sunday afternoon, the most recent Southland Conference sweep for the Northwestern State baseball team ended with a walk-off home run by a left-handed hitter. After Sunday’s matchup with Houston Christian, the Demons’ last two Southland Conference sweeps have ended with a walk-off home run by a left-handed hitter.

Any time an athlete accomplishes a feat that has not happened at Northwestern State since 1982, you know it is a major achievement. NSU thrower Djimon Gumbs did just that, breaking the NSU record in the men’s shot put on the second and final day of the Corky/Crofoot Shootout on Saturday on the campus of Texas Tech.

Beginning his playing days in junior high during World War II, riding for an hour in the back of a pickup truck to start college at Northwestern State University, and finishing eight decades in organized basketball helping choose officials for the NCAA’s Division I Final Four, Tynes Hildebrand has lived an unparalleled career.

As the Southland Conference season winds down, the Northwestern State baseball team will be focused on what it can control – not what the other eight teams in the league are doing. The opponent for the Demons’ sixth conference series – its first at home in three weeks – should help Northwestern State keep its eyes affixed on the series with the Huskies, which began.

There were plenty of big swings Tuesday night at Brown-Stroud Field, but the biggest one for the Northwestern State baseball team may have come from a group of pitchers. In a game that was dominated by offense, it was the work of five Demon relievers that ensured Northwestern State completed a two-game season sweep of Grambling with a 16-8 midweek victory.

The sixth-seeded Northwestern State tennis team started quickly in Saturday morning’s Southland Conferece Tournament semifinal match against McNeese. The Lady Demons were unable, however, to maintain that momentum, falling 4-2 to the No.

On a day where a typically offensive ballpark played to the pitchers, the Northwestern State baseball team came out on the wrong end of a pitchers duel. The Demons could not solve UIW right-handers Hunter Hargett and Dave Johnson while the Cardinals took advantage of their offensive opportunities and completed a three-game Southland Conference sweep with a 5-0 win Sunday afternoon at Sullivan Field.

Throughout the spring season, Northwestern State has aimed to improve each day and each week. NSU has done just that, as evidenced by the annual spring game, the Delaney Bowl, as each unit made big plays during the game.

Just ahead of Small Business Week, the Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Northwestern State University Athletics to host Celebrate Local Day at NSU Baseball. Local businesses are invited to set up vendor booths with samples, handouts, experiences and more at the April 27 home baseball game vs. Houston Christian.