LAKE AREA CLASSIC TOURNAMENT PAGE
LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese baseball team is set to kick off the 2017 season this weekend as the Cowboys prepare to host the 15
th Annual Lake Area Classic at Joe Miller Ballpark featuring some of the most talented teams in the country who will make their way to Southwest Louisiana for the top-flight event.
The six-game, three-day classic will feature three squads who have made quite a bit of history in their respective programs as 2012 College World Series participant Stony Brook, 2003 College World Series team Missouri State and 2016 NCAA Tournament squad Rhode Island make their way to The Jeaux to compete against the Cowboys.
The three-day round robin tournament kicks off Friday at 11 a.m. with Missouri State taking on Rhode Island. McNeese will face Stony Brook in the nightcap starting at 6 o'clock.
Saturday will feature two games as Stony Brook is scheduled to face Missouri State at 11 a.m. followed by McNeese and Rhode Island at 3 p.m.
The Lake Area Classic will conclude Sunday with Rhode Island and Stony Brook beginning the day at 11 a.m. while McNeese and Missouri State face off against each other at 2 p.m.
McNeese head coach
Justin Hill enters his fourth season at the helm and welcomes back 20 letterwinners from last season along with 10 newcomers. Hill is 93-78 overall in his first three seasons and looks to lead the Cowboys to their fifth consecutive Southland Conference Tournament appearance.
Included in the 21 letterwinners from last season are five every day position starters as well as 11 pitchers. Freshman All-American
Bryan King returns to the mound as one of top rotation pitchers for the Cowboys while All-Southland selection
Collin Kober returns as one of the top relievers in the league. In the field, junior
Joe Provenzano returns while third baseman
Matt Gallier enters his senior season with McNeese. Ricky Ramirez and
Shane Selman both return as part of the outfield.
King (6-4, 3.69 ERA in 2016) will get the starting nod in Friday's season opener as he faces off against Stony Brook's Bret Clarke (6-2, 2.19 ERA in 2016). Clarke was chosen as the America East Conference Rookie of the Year last season for the Seawolves.
Sophomore transfer
Rhett Deaton will make his first collegiate start for McNeese on Saturday against Rhode Island. The Rams are set to counter with junior right-hander Nick Johnson, who earned a 2-1 record and 3.16 ERA in 19 appearances in 2016.
Senior left-hander
Austin Sanders (3-2, 6.69 ERA) will take the mound Sunday as he and the Pokes take on Missouri State in the tournament finale. The Bears are slated to start freshman left-hander Nate Witherspoon.
Stony Brook returns 16 letterwinners from a 2016 squad that finished 27-27 overall and 13-9 for a third place finish in the America East Conference. Stony Brook was picked to finish second in this year's America East preseason poll while Binghamton was chosen first. The Seawolves gathered one first-place vote.
Rhode Island returns 22 players from last year's club, which claimed the 2016 A-10 regular-season title before putting on a dominant performance at the conference championship. The Rams went on to defeat Davidson, 15-2, in the A-10 tournament championship game and upset South Carolina, 5-4, in the Regional opener for its first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
With 15 letterwinners returning from last year's 38-21 squad, Missouri State gained 51 points to place third in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. The Bears welcome back six position starters and the bulk of a deep 2016 pitching staff. Junior third baseman Jake Burger earned preseason All-America honors from Baseball America. Burger was a consensus All-American and member of the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove team in 2016.
Each tournament contest will be streamed live on McNeeseSports.com for a fee. Fans can purchase 24-hour passes for $6.95. Live stats will also be provided for each game.
Sunday's game between McNeese and Missouri State will be available to listen to on KEZM 1310 AM in Sulphur and on kezmonline.com with
Matthew Bonnette providing the call.
Each Lake Area Classic game will be sold as a single game at $15 and $9 each and can be purchased at McNeeseSports.com or at the Joe Miller Ballpark ticket booth.
LAKE AREA CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, February 17
Missouri State vs. Rhode Island - 11AM
McNeese vs. Stony Brook - 6PM
Saturday, February 18
Stony Brook vs. Missouri State - 11AM
McNeese vs. Rhode Island - 3PM
Sunday, February 19
Rhode Island vs. Stony Brook - 11 AM
McNeese vs. Missouri State - 2PM
- Home team listed first
- All times are subject to change
LAKE AREA CLASSIC TIDBITS
• McNeese enters the 2017 season with an all-time record of 1,421-1,444-8.
• Head coach
Justin Hill enters his fourth season as a Division I head coach with a record of 93-78. Hill is just the second coach in McNeese baseball history to lead the program to three consecutive 30+ win seasons in his first years at the helm. Current Ole Miss skipper Mike Bianco was the only other to do so.
• The Cowboys are 21-35-1 all-time in season openers, and a perfect 3-0 under the direction of Hill.
• McNeese has played every opening day at home under Hill since his arrival in 2014. The last time the Pokes played away from home to start the season was back in 2012 when they traveled to take on Houston Baptist.
• The Cowboys are 7-6 in games played on Feb. 17 while
Justin Hill is 1-0 in contest played on that date. He led the Pokes to a 4-2 win over Louisiana Tech back in 2014.
• The last time the Pokes opened the season on Feb. 17 came in 2012 with an 8-7 victory at Houston Baptist.
• McNeese will face Stony Brook for the first time in program history this weekend while the Pokes meet Rhode Island for the fourth time in series history. The Cowboys and Rams played a three-game series in Lake Charles back in 2011. McNeese and Missouri State will play each other for the fifth time in series history in first since 2005.
• The Lake Area Classic will take place for the 15th time in history in second time in the last four seasons. The tournament has hosted multiple nationally ranked teams in the past including Ohio State, Georgia, Creighton, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Southern Miss.
