CONWAY, Arkansas – Just when you thought they were down, the "Cardiac Cowboys" of McNeese were never out as a clutch one-out RBI-triple from sophomore Andrew Guillotte helped propel the Cowboys to a 7-5 victory over third-seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Friday's elimination game to stay alive in the Southland Conference Tournament.
 
With junior shortstop Connor Lloyd standing at first and tied at five runs apiece, Guillotte belted a solid triple into deep left field that allowed Lloyd to score all the way from first and give the Cowboys a 6-5 lead.  An RBI-single from left fielder James Cantu on the next pitch sealed the win for McNeese who took their second victory of the tournament.
 
"That is what college baseball is all about," said head coach Justin Hill.  "That was one of the best played ball games all year and it was tough to have a team lose after that tough of a contest.  I was proud of our guys who never stop competing all game long."
 
The seven-seed Cowboys (30-27) will enter into a rematch with six-seed Central Arkansas Friday night at 7 p.m. in the championship round of their bracket.  If McNeese wins the first game against the Bears they will play UCA again Saturday at either 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. for a chance to advance to the championship game.
 
The win gives McNeese its first 30+ win season since 2010 and its 16^th overall in school history and for the first time in SLC Tournament history also keeps a Texas league school from reaching the final four of the tournament.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi finished the season with a 31-27 overall record.
 
Junior relief pitcher Cole Prejean added to the superb performance of the Cowboys as he came in to toss four shutout innings and scattered just two hits from the Islanders offense.  He recorded three strikeouts in the process.
 
Prejean came in after starting pitcher Steven O'Bryant who pitched the first five innings and gave up five runs on nine hits and two walks along with two punch outs.
 
"Cole has been good for us all year and been able to come in to relieve when we need him to," said Hill.  "Our staff gave us a chance to win in this ballgame so I am really proud of the way we finished."
 
Guillotte led the Cowboys in offensive production in the contest as he batted 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two runs driven in.  Lloyd recorded the most hits after going 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Cantu and center fielder Jackson Gooch also recorded a multi-hit game. 
 
AMCC hit three-straight singles into left field in the top of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead over the Cowboys as right fielder Kyle Danford drove in the run.  McNeese worked out of a jam working a double play to end the inning leaving one base runner stranded in scoring position.
 
The Cowboys wasted no time in the bottom side of the inning using three-straight singles of their own, led by Gooch who sent a hit up the middle scoring Guillotte from second base to tie the ballgame up.  With one out and two on, third baseman Reed Gordy smashed an RBI-single into left field to score Cantu as the Pokes took a 2-1 lead.
 
The lead was regained by the Islanders in the top of the third following another series of consecutive singles including an RBI-hit from Tyler Ware while Danford's RBI-ground out gave AMCC a 3-2 lead.
 
McNeese sent out three hits in the bottom side of the fourth as catcher Cameron Toole's RBI single allowed designated hitter Billy Sommers to plate the tying run.  Following a pitching change and a double steal by Lloyd and Toole, Guillotte executed a ground out that allowed Lloyd to score that gave the Cowboys a 4-3 lead.
 
Both teams became involved in a 4-4 tie in the top of the fifth inning following a leadoff triple from AMCC left fielder Jordan Lee who was driven in on a RBI-groundout to knot the score.
 
The Islanders added a run in the fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead while McNeese struck back in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI-double from Matt Williams to tie the score back at five runs all.
 
Friday night's contest will be streamed live on the Southland Digital Network, which fans can access by logging on to southland.org/watch or by downloading the Southland Conference app on their mobile devices or tablets.
 
The game will also be broadcast on Cajun Radio-1470 AM in Lake Charles and online at cajunradio.com, with Bruce Merchant providing the call while fans can also follow live in-game updates on Twitter @McNeeseBaseball.