LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese baseball team returns to Southland Conference action this weekend when the Cowboys welcome Incarnate Word to Cowboy Diamond for a three-game series set to begin Friday at 6 p.m.
This weekend McNeese Athletics is hosting Heroes Weekend during the entire UIW series. The baseball team will invite all firefighters, police officers, military personnel and all other service men and women who protect this country to come out to the ballpark for a fun-filled weekend full of activities.
McNeese will provide pizza to all "Heroes" and their families while supplies last during Friday night's game. Saturday is Operation Rain Twenty-Two Day in which the Rain 22 Organization will be the guest of honor that afternoon. Sunday's series finale will begin with a moment of silence for all those who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our country with an honorary balloon release that will take place in memory of our fallen heroes.
McNeese (11-6, 2-1 SLC) is coming off a mid-week shutout to first-ranked LSU on Wednesday in which the Tigers posted a 7-0 decision over the Cowboys. Despite the loss, the Pokes have won seven of their last 10 games that included a series win over Houston Baptist last weekend.
Senior outfielder
Andrew Guillotte leads the way offensively for McNeese with a .375 (27-for-72) clip. Guillotte has recorded four doubles, a home run, seven RBI, a team-high 13 runs scored and nine stolen bases. Shortstop
Connor Lloyd is second on the team with a .328 batting average aling with a double, three RBI and four runs scored.
Kaleb Fontenot (2-1, 3.20 ERA) will draw the start on the mound for Friday night's opening contest against the Cardinals. Saturday regular
Bryce Kingsley (2-2, 2.10 ERA) will take the bump for game two on Saturday.
Trent Fontenot (1-1, 3.26 ERA) will conclude the series on Sunday when he starts on the mound for the Cowboys.
Kingsley leads the pitching staff in ERA and boasts one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratio's in the conference with a 25:4 mark. Kingsley has posted three quality starts on the season while Fontenot is ranked second with two quality starts.
McNeese as a team holds a .280 batting clip along with one of the best slugging percentages in the conference (.354). The Cowboys pitching staff has a 3.09 ERA and a .222 opponent batting average.
Incarnate Word (7-10, 1-2 SLC) will enter the series after suffering a 7-1 defeat against Texas on Tuesday. The Cardinals dropped their opening league series at home against Southeastern Louisiana last weekend with the Lions taking two of three from UIW. The Cardinals are 3-4 overall when on the road this season.
Ethan McGill holds the best average on the Cardinal squad with a .293 clip along with six doubles, six RBI and seven runs scored. Jesse Hoover is currently batting .268 on the season and leads the team with 19 hits and also has recorded three doubles, a triple and six RBIs. Mark Whitehead leads UIW with five stolen bases this season.
Incarnate Word will send left-hander Garret Cooper (3-1, 1.73 ERA) to the mound on Friday while a pair of right-handers will finish off the series with Brandon Anderson (1-1, 4.30 ERA) on the bump Saturday followed by Kris Looper (0-1, 12.10 ERA) who will finish the series for the Cardinals on Sunday.
The Cardinals are batting .245 as a team while the pitching staff holds a 5.99 ERA through 17 games this season.
McNeese swept all three games away from UIW in Lake Charles last season.
The game will be featured on either Cajun Radio-1470 AM in Lake Charles and online at cajunradio.com or on KEZM 1310 in Sulphur and kezmonline.com. The broadcasts will be determined based on the results of the SLC Basketball Tournament in Katy, Texas. Fans can keep up with in-game updates and other information by logging on to Twitter @McNeeseBaseball.
Following the weekend series, the Cowboys remain at home with a non-conference contest against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday, March 16 beginning at 6 p.m. followed by a three-game conference road series at Abilene Christian over the weekend.
