LAKE CHARLES – Despite a sluggish start at the beginning of Sunday afternoon's rubber match, the McNeese baseball team settled in and rolled off eight runs in three late innings to roll to an 8-4 series win over Southern Illinois at Cowboy Diamond.
The series victory is the third consecutive under McNeese head coach
Justin Hill as the Pokes have now won eight of nine season opening weekend contests under the three-year skipper.
"I thought that their pitcher (Baird) was good with a 88-91 pitching speed and good breaking ball," said Hill. "He was tough but we were able to get him out of there and expose some things. When we did get some opportunities our guys executed really well to get it out to a 2-0 lead."
It was the effort of senior pitcher
Ethan Stremmel (1-0) that helped the Cowboys secure the series as the right-hander tossed 5.1 grueling innings on the mound. Stremmel's five strikeouts and four hits scattered positioned gave McNeese the chance to settle in and take advantage of a late start.
"The biggest thing is that I thought
Ethan Stremmel gave us a chance to win the game," said Hill. "He was matching them inning-for-inning and gave our offense a chance to get going."
The Pokes used four relievers who combined for four strikeouts and five hits surrendered during the game. Freshman
Aidan Anderson performed well on the bump in 1.2 innings of work where he gave up no runs and just one hit.
McNeese plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth to break the scoreless tie. The Pokes used an RBO-single from junior
Will Fox while a sacrifice bunt drove in sophomore
Joe Provenzano.
Designated hitter
Jake Cochran let his name be known during Sunday's contest as the Moss Bluff native collected two hits and drove in three runs on the day. His biggest moment of the day came in the bottom of the sixth as he laced a two-RBI double down the right field that upped the McNeese lead to a comfortable 4-0 lead.
The Cowboys opened their lead in the next frame scoring four runs, highlighted by a two-run homer from senior
Connor Crane. Cochran and Fox also drove in a run each in during their at-bats.
"I really like this offense and what we are going to do," said Hill. "I think it's just a matter of me figuring out what the best combination is going to be four our guys. The only way we are going to do that is to keep putting them in there."
Southern Illinois would not leave without a fight, however, scoring four runs in the top of the eighth inning that cut McNeese's lead to an 8-4 score. It was the pitching of
Austin Briggs who came in and shut down the rally with two strikeouts on four batters faced.
The Cowboys collected eight hits on the day while the Salukis led with nine and committed an error. Both squads each left seven stranded on base.
McNeese will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 23 when it makes the trip to take on nationally ranked Houston. First pitch is slated for a 6:30 start.
McNeese 8, Southern Illinois 4 (Feb 21, 2016 at Lake Charles, La.)
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Southern Illinois... 000 000 040 - 4 9 1 (1-2)
McNeese............. 000 022 40X - 8 8 0 (2-1)
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Pitchers: Southern Illinois - Baird,Michael; Selvey,Colten(6); Williams,Jacob(6);
Townsend,Mitch(7); McFadden,Connor(7); Ellet,Gavyn(8) and Hutchins,Nick. McNeese -
Stremmel, Ethan; Anderson, Aidan(6); Mize, Mason(8); Briggs, Austin(8); Fontenot, Trent(9) and
Duhon, Dustin; Toole, Cameron.
Win-Stremmel, Ethan(1-0) Loss-Baird,Michael(0-1) T-3:00 A-321
HR MCN - Crane, Connor (1).
Weather: Cloudy; 70 degrees; Wind: 11S
Mize, M. faced 4 batters in the 8th.
