LAKE CHARLES—McNeese softball will host the University of Houston Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a game that was originally schedule as the Cowgirls' home opener on March 9 but was postponed due to rain.
McNeese (35-12) is coming off a 2-1 Southland Conference series win over Lamar last weekend. The game against Houston will be the final non-conference game of the season before the Cowgirls host Central Arkansas in a three game Southland Conference series with the regular season title on the line.
Sophomore
Erika Piancastelli continues to lead McNeese with a .387 batting average and ranks second on the nation with 20 homeruns. Piancastelli is one homerun shy of becoming McNeese's career leader. She is tied with Heather Moreaux, both have 38 career homeruns.
The Cowgirls are also getting offensive production from
Marisa Taunton who leads the team with 54 hits and 21 stolen bases. Taunton is second on the team with a .370 average.
Hailey Drew is batting .347 with 35 hits and 15 stolen bases while
Justyce McClain (.345),
Morgan Catron (.324),
Emily Vincent (.315) are all batting over .300.
Seniors
Jamie Allred and Vincent have been carrying the bulk of the pitching duties of late. Allred is 14-3 overall with a 1.66 ERA and a team high four shutouts. She picked up two wins against Lamar, giving her 65 career victories, two shy of the record of 67 held by Megan Bond. Vincent is 12-3 on the year with a 1.86 ERA in 120.2 innings. Vincent leads the team with 124 strikeouts.
Houston (23-27) is coming off a conference series against Central Florida where they lost two of three games. The Cougars defeated McNeese 4-1 in Houston on April 6 in the first game of the meeting.
Maya Thomas is batting .399 with team high 57 hits while Courtney Klingler leads Houston with 12 homeruns and has a .321 average. Houston uses four pitchers and is led by Julana Shrum's 3.61 ERA. Shrum is 7-9 on the year with 35 strikeouts in 93 innings. Presley Bell (3.88) ERA is 5-8 in 79.1 innings. Savannah Heebner is 7-6 with a 3.95 ERA and Shelby Miller is 4-4 with a 3.96 ERA.
McNeese will host the Southland Conference Tournament May 11-13 at Cowgirl Diamond. Tournament tickets are currently on sale and can be purchase in person at the Jack Doland Fieldhouse (M-F, 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.) or online at mcneesetickets.com.
Tournament ticket prices are $21 for an adult all-tournament pass, $11 for youth (ages 5-17) all-tournament pass. Single day tickets are $11 for adults and $6 for youth. Children under 5 will be admitted free. Southland Conference students will also be admitted free with a university ID.
