| Northwestern State Lady Demons | |
| Currentseason: | 2024 Northwestern State Lady Demons softball team |
| University: | Northwestern State University |
| Conference: | Southland Conference |
| Conference Short: | Southland |
| City: | Natchitoches |
| Stateabb: | LA |
| State: | Louisiana |
| Coach: | Vacant |
| Stadium: | Lady Demon Diamond |
| Capacity: | [1] |
| Nickname: | Lady Demons |
| Ncaa Tourneys: | 1998, 2000, 2002, 2013, 2014 |
| Conference Tournament: | Southland 1998, 2000, 2002, 2013, 2014 |
| Conference Champion: | Southland 1991, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2015 |
The Northwestern State Lady Demons softball team represents Northwestern State University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Southland Conference. The Lady Demons were most recently led by head coach Lacy Prejean. The team plays its home games at Lady Demon Diamond located on the university's campus.[2]
In 2013, the Lady Demons' home field, Lady Demon Diamond, received a $466,000 renovation including a partially covered grandstand with chairback seating, a new press box, and concession stand.[3] [4]
Softball began at Northwestern State in 1979. The Lady Demons have competed in every season since that time. The program has won four Southland Conference regular season titles (1991, 1998, 1999, 2000), five Southland Conference tournament titles (1998, 2000, 2002, 2013, 2014). As conference tournament champions, the Lady Demons won the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Softball Championship tournament. As of the start of the 2015 season the Lady Demons have an all-time record of 924–912–3 and a Southland Conference record of 344–335.[5]
The Lady Demons tie for second most regular season conference championships. The team has also performed well in the Southland conference tournament. At five, the Lady Demons are second in the number of conference tournament championships. In addition to winning five tournament titles, the team has the best tournament winning percentage (.651) with an overall record of 43–23 and has the second most conference tournament appearances of current conference membership at 16. Five Lady Demons have been named the conference tournament Most Valuable Player. Twenty-nine Lady Demons have been named to the conference All Tournament team with ten of those players named to the team multiple times.[6]
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall | Conference | Notes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Win | Loss | Tie | Games | Win | Loss | Tie | |||||
| Independent | ||||||||||||
| 1979 | Independent | Pam Carey | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1980 | Independent | Debra Pheil | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1981 | Independent | James Smith | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1982 | Independent | James Smith | 27 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1983 | Independent | James Smith | 29 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1984 | Independent | James Smith | 35 | 12 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Gulf States Conference | ||||||||||||
| 1985 | Gulf States Conference | Linda Jones | 47 | 20 | 26 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 1986 | Gulf States Conference | Linda Jones | 43 | 23 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 1987 | Gulf States Conference | Rickey McCalister | 42 | 22 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Southland Conference | ||||||||||||
| 1988 | Southland | Rickey McCalister | 49 | 25 | 24 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1989 | Southland | Rickey McCalister | 61 | 32 | 29 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1990 | Southland | Rickey McCalister | 61 | 43 | 17 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1991 | Southland | Rickey McCalister | 63 | 44 | 18 | 1 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 0 | Conference Champions | |
| 1992 | Southland | Rickey McCalister | 59 | 37 | 21 | 1 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 1993 | Southland | Rickey McCalister | 53 | 25 | 28 | 0 | 26 | 7 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 1994 | Southland | Rickey McCalister | 59 | 17 | 42 | 0 | 32 | 9 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 1995 | Southland | Gay McNutt | 70 | 45 | 25 | 0 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1996 | Southland | Gay McNutt | 51 | 10 | 41 | 0 | 24 | 7 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 1997 | Southland | Gay McNutt | 55 | 26 | 29 | 0 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 1998 | Southland | Gay McNutt | 58 | 40 | 18 | 0 | 26 | 23 | 3 | 0 | SLC regular season champions SLC tournament champs NCAA tournament – 1st round | |
| 1999 | Southland | Gay McNutt | 57 | 31 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 19 | 7 | 0 | SLC regular season champions | |
| 2000 | Southland | Gay McNutt | 60 | 41 | 19 | 0 | 26 | 22 | 4 | 0 | SLC regular season champs SLC tournament champs NCAA tournament – 1st round | |
| 2001 | Southland | Ty Singleton | 50 | 30 | 20 | 0 | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2002[9] | Southland | Ty Singleton | 70 | 45 | 25 | 0 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 0 | SLC tournament champs NCAA tournament – 1st round | |
| 2003[10] | Southland | Eileen Schmidt | 60 | 27 | 33 | 0 | 27 | 14 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2004[11] | Southland | Eileen Schmidt | 63 | 35 | 28 | 0 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2005[12] | Southland | Mike Perniciaro | 63 | 35 | 28 | 0 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2006[13] | Southland | Becky McMurty | 60 | 28 | 32 | 0 | 25 | 12 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2007[14] | Southland | Becky McMurty | 58 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2008[15] | Southland | Becky McMurty | 55 | 10 | 45 | 0 | 29 | 5 | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2009[16] | Southland | Donald Pickett | 50 | 5 | 45 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2010[17] | Southland | Donald Pickett | 54 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 30 | 13 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2011[18] | Southland | Donald Pickett | 57 | 32 | 25 | 0 | 32 | 15 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2012[19] | Southland | Donald Pickett | 50 | 19 | 31 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2013[20] | Southland | Donald Pickett | 55 | 40 | 15 | 0 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 0 | SLC tournament champs NCAA tournament – 1st round | |
| 2014[21] | Southland | Donald Pickett | 50 | 30 | 20 | 0 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 0 | SLC tournament champs NCAA tournament – 1st round | |
| 2015[22] | Southland | Donald Pickett | 54 | 36 | 18 | 0 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 0 | SLC regular season champs SLC tournament finalist | |
| 2016 | Southland | Donald Pickett | 52 | 27 | 25 | 0 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | Southland | Donald Pickett | 57 | 23 | 33 | 1 | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | Southland | Donald Pickett | 53 | 28 | 25 | 0 | 27 | 14 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | Southland | Donald Pickett | 57 | 30 | 27 | 0 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | Southland | Donald Pickett | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Series cut short by COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2021 | Southland | Donald Pickett | 46 | 24 | 22 | 0 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0 | ||
The Lady Demons have appeared in five NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 0–10.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result/Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I Tournament Results | |||
| First Game Second Game | L 0–2 L 1–9 | ||
| LSU Oregon | L 1–7 L 1–4 | ||
| L 2–3 (10) L 6–9 | |||
| Louisiana–Lafayette Central Connecticut State | L 0–3 L 1–9 | ||
| L 1–6 L 6–7 |
Source:
Sources: Player of the Year
Hitter of the Year
Pitcher of the Year
Newcomer of the Year
Freshman of the Year
Coach of the Year
All-Conference 1st Team