LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese State baseball team will hit the road for the first time this season as the Cowboys travel east on I-10 to take on in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette in a single mid-week game on Tuesday at 6 o'clock.
The game will be available on KEZM 1310 AM in Sulphur and online at McNeeseSports.com. Bruce Merchant will provide the call for the game. Fans can keep up with in-game updates and other information by logging on to Twitter @McNeeseBaseball.
McNeese (4-4) turns its attention towards the Ragin' Cajuns after a rough weekend at Cowboy Diamond that saw the Pokes get swept by Bradley. For the first time in program history, the Cowboys were shutout in three consecutive games and have yet to score in 28 consecutive scoreless inning dating back to a Feb. 18 loss against Louisiana Tech.
McNeese will start right-hander
Ethan Stremmel (0-0, 3.38 ERA) against ULL on Tuesday. Stremmel has made one appearance so far this season, tossing 2.2 innings against Bradley. He allowed an earned run on two hits and struck out five batters in the process.
As a team, the Cowboys are hitting a .252 clip that ranks third in the conference, with 27 runs scored, 5 homers and 10 stolen bases through eight contests. On the mound, McNeese has a 3.62 ERA, with two saves, walking 23 and striking out 71 in 72.0 frames of work, posting a league best .978 fielding percentage. Junior catcher
Cameron Toole leads the team with a .381 (8-for-21) average and has posted four doubles, two walks, two hit by pitches, four RBI and has scored three runs. Junior
Connor Crane is second on the team hitting .367 and has recorded four doubles, a triple, two homers, four stolen bases and three RBI. One other Cowboy is batting over .300 on the season in junior
Lewis Guilbeau (.318).
Five McNeese batters have paced the offense through the early part of the season, leading the squad in both multiple-hit games and multiple-RBI games.
Cameron Toole (3),
Billy Sommers (2),
Matt Gallier (2),
Andrew Guillotte (2) and
Bryce Packard (1) have collected multiple-hit games while also driving in multiple RBIs this season.
Louisiana-Lafayette (4-3), led by head coach Tony Robichaux, enters Tuesday's game after taking a weekend series over nationally recognized Stony Brook. The Cajuns took the first game of the series, 7-3, before dropping the next game, 4-1. ULL clinched the series with a 2-1 victory over the Seawolves.
The Cajuns are hitting .271 as a team with Brenn Conrad pacing the offense with a .350 batting average and leads the squad with a .450 slugging percentage and a .409 on-base percentage. Greg Davis is second on the team with a .333 average along with 10 hits, a double, two RBI and a stolen base.
ULL freshman right-hander Gunner Leger (1-0, 4.50 ERA) will make his second career start against the Cowboys on Tuesday. Leger has appeared in two games this season, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work. He picked up his first career win in a 7-3 victory over Northwestern State after tossing 5.0 innings and allowed just two runs to score on three hits.
The ULL pitching staff holds a 3.69 ERA with 24 walks, 38 strikeouts and a .225 opposing batting average.
Following Tuesday night's contest, the Pokes will return home to face UTSA in a three-game weekend series slated to begin at 6 o'clock on Friday, Feb. 27.
