LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese State baseball team will step out of conference play and travel to take on the University of Louisiana at Monroe in a pair of mid-week contests scheduled for 6 o'clock starts on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Both contests can be heard on Cajun Radio-1470 AM and on CajunRadio.com. Fans can also follow the live in-game action by logging on to McNeeseSports.com and clicking on the "Live Stats" link under the baseball schedule page.
McNeese (20-12, 10-5 SLC) is coming off of a series sweep over New Orleans last weekend that helped propel them into second place in the Southland Conference regular season standings. The Pokes seek their first mid-week victory after dropping two straight to in-state foes Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern. Out of league action, McNeese is 9-7 and also holds a 6-6 mark on the road.
Bryce Kingsley (3-2, 2.37 ERA) will make his long awaited return to the bump Tuesday evening when he will work a limited set of frames for the Cowboys. Kingsley has worked 30.1 innings so far this season and given up just eight earned runs off of 27 hits and has walked just four batters and struck out 27.
Trent Fontenot (3-1, 2.72 ERA) is expected to take the mound for McNeese on Wednesday. Fontenot has delivered 39.2 innings of work for the Cowboys so far this season and has surrendered just 12 earned runs and scattered 30 hits. He has walked 17 and struck out 31 batters. He has limited his opponents to a .226 batting average that stands among the top in the league.
McNeese is hitting .288 as a team with 54 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs and 36 steals this season. The pitching staff has a 3.07 ERA with 264 strikeouts and a .239 opponent batting average.
The Pokes are led at the plate by freshman sensation
Joe Provenzano who has logged a .363 clip so far this season along with four doubles, seven RBIs and 15 runs scored. Provenzano has seven multiple-hit games and has reached base in the last eight contests. He currently leads the team with a .480 on-base percentage.
Senior outfielder
Andrew Guillotte is second on the team with a .348 average and has turned in nine doubles, two homers, 15 RBIs, 27 runs scored and team-high 15 stolen bases.
ULM (15-14, 5-5 Sun Belt) enters the two-game series after picking up its first conference series win of the season against UTA on Saturday. The Warhawks have scored three victories in their last five contests and are also looking for their first mid-week win since defeating Grambling back on March 17.
The Warhawks will start a pair of right-handers with Payton Coddou (0-0, 3.40 ERA) getting the nod for Tuesday followed by Brayden Bouchey (2-1, 4.05 ERA) who is slated to take the mound on Wednesday.
ULM is batting .277 as a team and has recorded 67 doubles, nine triples, 15 homers and 139 RBIs. The Warhawks pitching staff has a 3.40 ERA with 192 strikeouts, 92 walks and a .248 opponent batting average.
Kodie Tidwell is leading ULM with a .375 batting average through 29 games this season along with 12 doubles, two triples, a homer and 17 RBIs. Nathan Pugh leads the team in stolen bases (11) while Keelin Rasch leads with the most homers (5).
The mid-week contests will be the first between the two squads since the 2013 season when the Warhawks took a 17-8 decision from McNeese in Monroe before the Cowboys scored a 6-2 victory in Lake Charles later that season.
