LAKE CHARLES – Coming off a complete game shutout last weekend in San Antonio, senior hurler Kaleb Fontenot continued his superb play on the mound and rattled off his second straight shutout as the McNeese baseball team rolled to a 3-0 win over Abilene Christian Friday night.
 
Fontenot (3-2) became the first pitcher since Blake Ware in 2013 to toss two consecutive shutouts as he fired off nine innings and allowed no runs and just two hits. He set a career-high in strikeouts as he fanned 12 batters on the night.
 
When he completed the ninth, Fontenot extended his shutout streak to 18 straight innings. In that two-start span, Fontenot has allowed nine hits while striking out 19 and walking six.
 
The 18-inning streak is the longest of Fontenot's career and stands just six frames short from tying the all-time consecutive scoreless innings record.
 
Fontenot retired nine consecutive batters from the third inning to the seventh to help the Cowboys hold their lead. He ran into trouble in the seventh with two straight walks but fought back and retired the next two batters.
 
"I thought Kaleb (Fontenot) was good and was in command of the game tonight from the first pitch," said head coach Justin Hill. "He had that moment where he threw nine in a row but he has earned the opportunity to pitch himself out of that. Obviously, he found what was working and Coach Barton did a good job taking the mound visit. He did a good job overcoming those situations tonight."
 
The win pushes McNeese to a 12-9 overall mark on the year and 5-3 in SLC play while the Wildcats dipped to 9-13 this season with a 2-6 league record.
 
Offensively, the Cowboys hit six times and were led by Matt Gallier's 2-for-3 clip and RBI while Ricky Ramirez drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. Five different McNeese batters recorded a hit in the game, including Lewis Guilbeau who extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
 
ACU starting pitcher Garrett deMayere took the loss despite surrendering no earned runs as he worked eight innings and scattered six hits.
 
"I thought we put some good swings on some pitches," said Hill. "I also think that their guy pitched really well and I think the difference in a game like that is going to be who will make the fewest mistakes. We ended up making the fewest mistakes tonight and credit goes to our guys for capitalizing on that."
 
The Pokes picked up a one run lead in the second inning following Gallier's RBI-single and took advantage of a couple of ACU hiccups in the third, scoring two runs to stretch the lead out to a 3-0 ballgame.
 
McNeese will look for the series sweep when it face Abilene Christian Saturday in the series finale. The game is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch with an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids following the contest.
 
McNeese 3, Abilene Christian 0 (Mar 25, 2016 at Lake Charles, La.)
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Abilene Christian... 000 000 000  -  0  2  3      (9-13, 2-6 SLC)
McNeese............. 012 000 00X  -  3  6  1      (12-9, 5-3 SLC)
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Pitchers: Abilene Christian - Garrett deMeyere and Alex Copeland. McNeese - Fontenot, Kaleb and
Toole, Cameron.
Win-Fontenot, Kaleb(3-2)  Loss-Garrett deMeyere(2-3)  T-1:59  A-433
Weather: 67; Sunny and Clear: W: 5 ENE