LAKE CHARLES – What more could the 2015 McNeese State baseball seniors have asked for during Saturday's non-conference doubleheader with Grambling? The eleven outstanding senior student-athletes helped their team sweep the Tigers in a 4-2 victory in game one and a 7-2 win in game two to end their homestand.

The seniors also took a program and with the guidance of one of the top coaching staffs in the Southland Conference, helped build a team that posted consecutive 30-win seasons for the first time in over a decade and also put a product on the field that helped set the all-time record for cumulative season attendance.

The back-to-back 30 win seasons were the first accomplished since the 2002-2003 seasons while a record total of 21,361 fans attended games at Cowboy Diamond for an average of 712, both are school records.

McNeese improved to 31-21 overall on the season and finished the home portion of its slate with a 24-9 record at Cowboy Diamond. The home mark is the best finish for a Cowboy team since the 2000 season. The Pokes' 31 victories are the most for the program since 2011.

Head coach Justin Hill and the McNeese baseball team honored the seniors in a pre-game ceremony that included James Cantu, Tyler Erickson, Andrew Guillotte, Cory LaPeze, Connor Lloyd, Steven O'Bryant, Cole Prejean, Lucas Quary, Lance Sefcik, Billy Sommers and Jacob Williams.

The Pokes will wrap the regular season on the road when they travel to Central Arkansas for a three-game league series against the Bears. McNeese currently sits third in the SLC Standings and can finish no better than second and no worse than sixth place.

Below is a recap of both games:

GAME ONE: McNeese State 4, Grambling 2

Junior Bryce Kingsley took his place on the mound in game one of the doubleheader and was able to withstand a rocky start to finish strong for a quality six innings of work. The quality start was his first since Feb. 28.

Kingsley was able to battle past the first three inning in which he gave up two runs, two hits, two walks and hit two batters to settle down and toss the next three frames without giving up a run and only one hit and struck out four batters.

Senior Cole Prejean (2-2) would come in to relieve Kingsley and picked up the win after working two innings and not give up a single run or hit. Sophmore Collin Kober was credited with his ninth save of the season after pitching the last inning with a shutout effort.

McNeese fell into a one run deficit in the early going and were in jeopardy of dropping their first game of the weekend until a couple of seventh inning walks jumpstarted an offensive explosion of three runs that allowed the Pokes to take the lead.

Grambling got on the board in the third inning with a pair of runs off of a sacrifice fly and a base-hit. The Cowboys were able to cut into the lead with a RBI-single from Lewis Guilbeau in the bottom of the fourth frame to make it a 2-1 ballgame.

After a pitching change, the Tigers were unable to find the strike zone with the Cowboys taking advantage on a double, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and then another walk from senior Connor Lloyd that knotted the ballgame up at 2-2.

The Pokes were not done yet as a patient junior first baseman Connor Crane remained patient at the plate and posted an RBI on another bases loaded walk to give McNeese is first lead of the game, 3-2.

In the same inning, McNeese used a sacrifice fly from senior James Cantu for the go-ahead run that gave the Cowboys a 4-2 lead.

Eight total McNeese batters reached base in the game and were led by Crane who had a hit and two walks for an RBI.

McNeese 4, Grambling 2 (May 09, 2015 at Lake Charles, La.) (Game 1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Grambling........... 002 000 000  -  2  5  1      (9-36)
McNeese............. 000 100 30X  -  4  6  0      (30-21)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Grambling - Holbrook, Dion; Wilson, Andre(6); Pruitt, Marlon(7); Woods, Torrean(7);
Hoover, Creighton(7) and Diaz, Roger. McNeese - Kingsley, Bryce; Prejean, Cole(7);
Kober, Collin(9) and Toole, Cameron.
Win-Prejean, Cole(2-2)  Save-Kober, Collin(9)  Loss-Pruitt, Marlon(0-5)  T-2:21  A-0
Weather: 84; Cloudy; SSE 16 MPH
Woods faced 2 batters in the 7th.

GAME TWO: McNeese State 7, Grambling 2

Freshman Joe Provenzano put his stamp on the baseball program with a three-RBI effort that helped the Cowboys sweep the non-league weekend series against Grambling.

The Downers Grove, Illinois native sent a triple deep into right center that allowed a bases-loaded brigade of Pokes to reach home and snap a 1-1 tie. The freshman second baseman was then able to reach home following a fielding error at third and extend the lead to a 5-1 score over the Tigers.

As an offense, McNeese combined for 10 hits in the ballgame and were led by Provenzano, who finished the game with a hit, three RBIs and a run scored. Senior Billy Sommers and junior Lewis Guilbeau each turned in multiple-hit performances while senior Lucas Quary knocked in two runs.

Junior starter Ethan Stremmel (4-4) got the win after tossing seven quality innings in which he gave up just one run despite scattering nine hits. He allowed no walks and struck out five batters in the process.
After the Tigers took a one-run lead in the top half of the third inning, McNeese tied the ballgame up as junior Matt Gallier was able to slide home on a rally that was ended prematurely on a play at second base in which senior Andrew Guillotte was called out on a questionable caught stealing ruling.

Nonetheless, the Pokes were not phased and continued to put in the work. Well, that work paid off as McNeese exploded for four runs in the seventh that was started by Provenzano's three-run triple to take a four run lead.

Grambling cut the lead to three runs before Quary belted his eighth tater of the season way over the left field wall that scored two more runs and help the Cowboys climb to a 7-2 lead and the eventual victory.

The latter part of the game was as emotional as it gets as five senior tossers took their last stand on the mound at Cowboy Diamond. O'Bryant, Williams, Erickson, Sefcik and LaPeze all combined for two innings and did not surrender a run and gave up only four hits.

McNeese 7, Grambling 2 (May 09, 2015 at Lake Charles, La.) (Game 2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Grambling........... 001 000 010  -  2 13  2      (9-37)
McNeese............. 001 000 42X  -  7 10  1      (31-21)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Grambling - Williams,Brennan; Wilson, Andre(7); Hoover, Creighton(8) and Diaz, Roger.
McNeese - Stremmel, Ethan; O'Bryant, Steven(8); Williams, Jacob(8); Erickson, Tyler(8);
Sefcik, Lance(8); LaPeze, Cory(9) and Toole, Cameron.
Win-Stremmel, Ethan(4-4)  Loss-Wilson, Andre(1-9)  T-2:42  A-920
HR MCN - Quary, Lucas (8).
Weather: 84; Partly Cloudy; SSE 15 MPH
Williams, J. faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Erickson, T. faced 1 batter in the 8th.