SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS--  A RBI single by Erika Piancastelli in the sixth inning proved to be the game winning hit in McNeese's 2-1 non-conference softball road win at UTSA Wednesday.
 
The win lifts the Cowgirls' record to 17-6 on the year. McNeese will return to conference action this weekend with a three game series at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The series will begin with a single game at 3 p.m. Friday and will conclude with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at noon.
 
McNeese picked up five hits and Piancastelli led the Cowgirls with a 3 for 3 plate appearance with one home run, two RBI and scored one run.
 
Hailey Drew and pinch hitter Bryanna Castro picked up the other two Cowgirl hits. Drew singled in the sixth and Castro singled in the seventh.
 
Piancastelli broke a scoreless game in the fourth with a solo home run for a 1-0 McNeese lead. The long ball is Piancastelli's seventh of the season. She has hit at least one home run in each of the last four games.
 
After a McNeese pitching change, UTSA tied the game with a run in the bottom of the inning. A two-out single to centerfield scored pinch runner Lauren White.
 
Piancastelli's RBI single through the left side in the sixth gave McNeese a 2-1 lead. Taylor Goree scored what proved to be the game-winning run after a leadoff walk.
 
McNeese's second reliever, Emily Vincent got Megan Low to foul out to third for the first out. Vincent got Vivian Tijerina and Randee Crawford to go down looking for the final two outs of the game and picked up her first save of the season.
 
Jamie Allred evened her record to 3-3 on the year with the win after replacing starter Bianca Lilly in the fourth. Allred pitched 2 1/3 innings of no-hit ball, allowing two hits, one walk and struck out two.
 
Lilly earned her second start of the season and threw the first 3 2/3 innings, giving up two hits, one run and walked five.