LAKE CHARLES – Eager to return to Southland Conference action, the McNeese baseball team is set to host Abilene Christian for a three-game Easter weekend series set for a 6 p.m. start on both Thursday and Friday followed by a Saturday afternoon contest slated for 3 o'clock.
All three games can be heard on KEZM – 1310 AM in Sulphur and online at kezmradio.com. Live stats will be available throughout the entire weekend while fan's can also follow the action live with Twitter updates by following @McNeeseBaseball.
The weekend festivities include FCA Faith and Family night set to take place on Thursday night followed by a Easter Egg Hunt presented by Magnolia Properties at the conclusion of Saturday afternoon's contest.
McNeese (10-9, 3-3 SLC) enjoyed a mid-week rest following a SLC road series victory at Incarnate Word last weekend. The Pokes shut out UIW in the first two games before the Cardinals were able to slip by with a win in the series finale.
The Cowboys will mix up the pitching rotation this weekend, inserting senior
Bryce Kingsley (3-0, 3.18 ERA) into the Thursday night spot. Senior
Kaleb Fontenot (2-2, 2.20 ERA) will take the mound Friday night while freshman
Bryan King (2-0, 2.33 ERA) will draw the start for Saturday's contest.
Fontenot and King threw a combined 15.0 scoreless innings against Incarnate Word over the weekend and helped McNeese shut out a conference foe in back-to-back contests for the first time since 1994.
Kingsley enters the weekend rotation following three relief appearances and a start against ULM. He tossed 5.0 innings and limited the Warhawks to just two runs off of four hits to pick up his third win of the year. He also struck out a season-high six batters against Houston Baptist.
As a team, the Pokes are hitting .282 on the season with 176 hits, 107 runs scored, 12 home runs and 20 stolen bases through 19 games. They also boast some of the top offensive percentages in the league with a .379 on-base percentage that ranks fourth and.402 slugging clip that ranks fifth in the SLC. On the mound, McNeese has a 4.47 ERA, with five saves, walking 63 and striking out 154 in 167.0 frames of work.
Senior outfielder
Lewis Guilbeau leads the squad with a .404 (23-for-57) clip and has posted eight multiple hit games while currently riding a 10-game hitting streak. He has 23 hits, three doubles, 14 RBI and seven runs scored this season. Senior first baseman
Connor Crane leads the team with 25 hits, six doubles, 16 RBI and 19 runs scored.
Abilene Christian (9-11, 2-4 SLC) enters the series following a mid-week contest with nationally ranked TCU as well as a series loss to Southeastern Louisiana last weekend. The Wildcats opened Southland Conference play with a series win over Nicholls. As a team, ACU has hit .258 on the year with 76 runs scored, 24 doubles, two triples, five homers, 21 stolen bases and 49 walks in 20 games. On the mound, the Wildcats have a team ERA of 4.03, saving seven games in 174.0 frames, walking 64 and striking out 125.
Abilene Christian, who holds a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series, took two of three from the Pokes last season in Abilene.
