SUGAR LAND, Texas – When it was all set and done, the McNeese State baseball team used everything but the kitchen sink and in the end had no regrets for the tremendous amount of work that it put in to improve the quality of the program.
 
The Cowboys (32-25, 18-12 SLC), led by 11 of the best seniors ever to don the McNeese jersey, went above and beyond expectations from those around the league. This year's team was the first to reach 30 or more wins in back-to-back wins in over 15 years while also helping set a numerous amount of team records.
 
Among one of the many accomplishments occurred on the mound for McNeese. The Cowboy pitching staff finished the season with a 3.66 ERA, which is the lowest mark set by the squad since the 1993 season.
 
The tradition and work ethic that the class of 2015 left behind is unmatched and will be hard to duplicate by any other team in the league. The chemistry that this group created will help create a great deal of success for future McNeese baseball teams to enjoy and work hard to maintain.
 
After battling the top-ranked team in the league for 12 grueling innings, the Cowboys fell short to Southeastern Louisiana, 3-2, in one of the most epic battles in the history of the league tournament.
 
"It was one of the most entertaining baseball games and will be hard to top," said head coach Justin Hill. "You want the guys on the field to decide the game and they did. We just came up short today. You are never ready for that moment when it ends. With the heart that our seniors have, it will be hard to replace that. We feel like we are headed in the right direction and these guys helped us do that."
 
The Lions took control of the game with a pair of runs scored in the first three frames while the SLU pitchers seemed to shutdown any kind of offensive momentum tried from the Cowboys.
 
However, McNeese was not about to go down without a fight. It was in the seventh inning that junior catcher Cameron Toole helped spark a charge that would radiate throughout the entire McNeese dugout. A charge that would create a second breath and give the Pokes the strength to make a run at the top team in the league.
 
With one out and runners standing at first and second base, Toole delivered an RBI-single into left field that helped cut the SLU lead in half. Later in the inning, it was a hit from senior outfielder Andrew Guillotte that enabled the Lions to misstep and toss a wild pitch that allowed Toole to scrape across the plate and score the game-tying run from third base.
 
"You never know what you are going to get whenever you play in tournaments," said Hill. "You get to see teams do special things and come together. You get to see guys do things that they haven't done all year. You see guys pitch longer and work to get out of situations."
 
With new life, the Cowboys found solace in its bullpen that delivered one of the best relief performances this season. Senior Cole Prejean and sophomore Collin Kober combined for eight winnings of relief pitching in which the two did not give up a run despite scattering four hits and together struck out six Lions batters.
Kober's performance on the mound helped allowed the Stopper of the Year candidate to finish the season with a 1.03 ERA along with six victories and nine saves in 27 appearances.
 
Senior Cory LaPeze (0-1) suffered the loss on the mound for the Pokes after the winning run was given up in the bottom of the 12^th inning. Starter Bryce Kingsley tossed 3.2 innings and gave up only two runs while surrendering seven hits.
 
McNeese pounded out 11 hits in the contest and was led by senior rightfielder James Cantu who recorded three hits while junior right fielder Lewis Guilbeau turned in his 18^th multi-hit game of the season with two hits in the game.
 
Guillotte's hit and walk in the contest allowed him to finish the year having reached base in his last 17 games, a team-high. He also climbed to hit number 247 on the all-time list in which he holds the record.
 
Senior Connor Lloyd became the all-time leader in assists with 605 in his career. The shortstop also finished with 208 career hits that also ranks sixth on the all-time hits list.
 
Together, the senior class captured 108 wins through their four seasons at McNeese State.
 
Southeastern La. 3, McNeese 2 (May 21, 2015 at Sugar Land, Texas)
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McNeese............. 000 000 200 000  -  2 11  0      (32-25)
Southeastern La..... 101 000 000 001  -  3 12  1      (42-16)
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Pitchers: McNeese - Kingsley, Bryce; Prejean, Cole(4); Kober, Collin(7); LaPeze, Cory(12);
Stremmel, Ethan(12) and Toole, Cameron. Southeastern La. - Johnson, Jake; Klotz, Mason(7);
Granier, Kade(8); Sceroler, Mac(9) and Eades, Chris; Cuccia, Nico.
Win-Sceroler, Mac(3-2)  Loss-LaPeze, Cory(0-1)  T-3:27  A-0