LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese State baseball team used another walk-off win Sunday afternoon that completed a Southland Conference series sweep over Stephen F. Austin as senior
Connor Lloyd knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the 11
th inning to help propel the Pokes to a 7-6 victory.
With the ballgame knotted up for the third time in the eighth inning, the game eventually entered extra frames with neither team able to concoct something in the first free inning. In the bottom of the 11
th, with one out and two runners standing in scoring position, Lloyd remained patient and eventually eyed the perfect pitch as he sent a two-strike single through the left side and scored the winning run.
Lloyd's walk-off single comes a few days after helping his team score a mid-week win at Southern with spectacular performances at the plate and on the mound. On the week, he batted .526 (10-for-19) with three doubles, a triple, two stolen bases, four RBIs, and five runs scored for a .524 on-base percentage as well as a 0.00 ERA along with a strikeout.
The win gave McNeese (28-20, 17-10) its fifth straight victory on the season while the contest was the third in the last four games that the Pokes used a walk-off win against their opponents. SFA dropped to 15-33 and 9-17 in league play.
The extra-inning affair was McNeese's eighth this season with the Pokes holding a 5-3 record in that category.
Sophomore
Collin Kober (6-1) put forth a great relief effort once again and picked up his second win on the weekend. He tossed the final 1.2 innings of the contest and allowed no hits or runs during the session.
The McNeese bullpen limited its opponents to just one run on three hits and two walks in four innings of work. Senior
Cole Prejean pitched the most innings among the relievers and shut down the Jacks for two innings with just one hit allowed.
Senior
James Cantu was one of the most effective at the dish for the McNeese offense as he batted 2-for-2 with two RBIs, two walks, and two runs scored. Lloyd and junior
Lewis Guilbeau also recorded a pair of hits in the ballgame while junior
Billy Sommers knocked in two runs.
Stephen F. Austin held a three-run lead over the Pokes following the first two innings of play before McNeese fired off three runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth frame. The inning was highlighted by Sommers' third homer of the season that started things off while Cantu and Guilbeau each knocked in a run to knot up the score.
The Jacks took the lead once again with runs in the fifth and sixth innings before the Cowboys but the score to just one run with an RBI-single from Guilbeau in the sixth.
McNeese looked to have the series clinched in the seventh inning following RBI plays from Sommers and junior
Connor Crane before SFA used a run in the eighth frame to tie the game again for the third time.
The Cowboys will step out of conference action when it travels to Houston for a mid-week game on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. followed by a three-game home series against Grambling on the upcoming weekend. McNeese will finish conference play at Central Arkansas May 14-16.
McNeese 7, Stephen F. Austin 6 (May 03, 2015 at Lake Charles, La.)
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Stephen F. Austin... 210 011 010 00 - 6 12 3 (15-33, 9-17)
McNeese............. 000 301 200 01 - 7 11 0 (28-20, 17-10)
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Pitchers: Stephen F. Austin - Greene, Jarred; Burrington, Brett(7); Stone, Travis(7);
Day, Tyler(8); Ledet, Patrick(11); Wiedenfeld, Tyler(11) and Boxwell, Tyler; Holsomback, Holden
. McNeese - Stremmel, Ethan; Prejean, Cole(6); Erickson, Tyler(8); LaPeze, Cory(8);
Briggs, Austin(9); Kober, Collin(10) and Toole, Cameron.
Win-Kober, Collin(6-1) Loss-Day, Tyler(0-2) T-3:16 A-716
HR MCN - Sommers, Billy (3).
Weather: 81; Mostly Cloudy; S 12 MPH
Stremmel, E. faced 1 batter in the 6th.
Erickson, T. faced 1 batter in the 8th.
