LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese baseball team capitalized on early mistakes and swung big late to take down the No. 16 ranked team in the land Wednesday night as the Pokes topped UL-Lafayette, 7-2, in front of a capacity crowd at Cowboy Diamond.
 
Before the game, there was a group of former McNeese players and coaches who gathered together to recognize all of the hard work each had put in to help make a rivalry such as this one of the most respected and well-known baseball series in the nation. Following their recognition on the field, Ray Fontenot, Terry Burrows and Charlie Phillips were able to look on and smile as they saw their Cowboys take down the Cajuns once again.
 
The victory was the first over a ranked opponent in over seven years for McNeese. The Pokes last defeated Oral Roberts, who was ranked 24^th in the nation, back in 2008. It was also the Cowboys' first home win over ULL since 2010.
 
"I think it was a good win for our team," said McNeese head coach Justin Hill. "I think we played better than the score showed this past weekend (at UTSA). It was more about this team and figuring our what our identity is. I think you saw that as we showed that we could take advantage of other people's mistakes and create our offense.
 
The Pokes, who improved to 4-4 on the season, jumped out to a 2-0 lead over UL-Lafayette in front of the 1,509 in attendance during the second frame and increased the lead to three as the Cowboys took advantage of two ULL errors in both innings. ULL fell to 5-4 overall on the year.
 
McNeese starter Austin Sanders (1-1) tossed 5.1 strong innings and held the Cajuns to only one run scored on five scattered hits. He struck out two in the process.
 
With Sanders a bit stretched in the sixth inning, the Cajuns got a run back on a Stefan Trosclair RBI-single that cut the lead to a 2-1 score.
 
Following the run, McNeese went to its bullpen and received help from the arm of Trent Fontenot. After picking off the runner at first to start his session, Fontenot walked the next two batters that allowed ULL to load the bases. However, he continued to fight and eventually found himself out of a jam thanks to a fielder's choice play at second to end the inning.
 
"I thought that the pitching was outstanding," said Hill. "I thought Austin (Sanders) was good. I think from inning-to-inning that he was outstanding. Trent Fontenot came in and put the fire out and Ricky Ramirez did his job too."
 
Ramirez worked the last inning and helped close out the victory for the Pokes.
 
The Pokes opened up for four runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by an RBI-single from Todd Hinkley and a two-RBI triple off the bat of Cameron Toole, that expanded the McNeese lead to a 7-1 score.
 
"One of the biggest at-bats tonight was when we stretched it out with Todd Hinkley," said Hill. "(Connor) Crane led with the double and then Hinkley tries to put two bunts down but it didn't work and either way he would have moved the runner over and break out the inning."
 
The Cajuns scraped a run across the plate in the top of the ninth but were unable to generate anything else despite a two-hit inning.
 
McNeese and ULL were tied with seven hits apiece while the Cajuns committed four errors in the ballgame.
 
The Pokes will be back in action over the weekend with a three-game home series against Bradley. The first game is set for Friday evening at 6 p.m.