LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese baseball team will end a nine-game road swing this week as the Cowboys make the trip back to Texas for a two-game mid-week series against Baylor.
The pair of games will begin with a 6:30 first pitch on Tuesday followed by a 4 o'clock contest on Wednesday.
McNeese (23-21) looks to shake off a seven-game losing skid as they head over to Baylor this week. The Pokes were unable to escape a three-game conference sweep from Stephen F. Austin over the weekend in Nacogdoches.
As a team, the Cowboys are batting a .264 clip, with 218 runs scored, 23 homers and 48 stolen bases through 44 games. On the mound, McNeese has a 4.04 ERA, with 10 saves, walking 151 and striking out 344 in 390.0 frames of work, posting a .972 fielding percentage.
Among the top McNeese hitters are senior
Connor Crane (.351, 59 hits, 16 doubles, nine home runs, 37 RBI and 15 stolen bases),
Lewis Guilbeau (.318, 49 hits, nine doubles, 27 RBI) and
Matt Gallier (.287, 35 hits, five doubles, 23 RBI and 22 walks).
The Cowboys will send senior right-hander
Bryce Kingsley (5-0, 3.19 ERA) to the mound for Tuesday's contest against Baylor. Kingsley has appeared nine teams and will make his fifth start this season. He has worked 31.0 innings, giving up 16 runs (11 earned) on 30 hits and 12 walks along with 24 strikeouts. He recently became only the sixth pitcher in McNeese history to record 200 or more strikeouts in a career.
Wednesday's game will see junior left-hander
Austin Sanders (3-2, 5.35 ERA) take the bump. Sanders will make his eighth start of the season and has worked 33.2 frames and given up 25 runs (20 earned) on 36 hits and has struck out 16 batters. He has wins against three ranked opponents this year.
Baylor (20-24) is coming off of a Big 12 series loss to West Virginia two weekends ago. The Bears have won three out of their last 10 contests and hold a 14-14 record at home this season.
Baylor's last three mid-week contests have come against Southland Conference squad's with wins coming against Lamar and Incarnate Word.
The Bears are hitting a .274 clip as a team with five batting over .300. Matt Menard paces the offense with a .331 average along with 39 hits, eight doubles and five homers. Darryn Sheppard leads the team with 55 hits and six taters this year while Kameron Esthay has hit 12 doubles.
On the mound, Baylor has a 4.86 ERA, with 10 saves, walking 206 batters and striking out 293 in 392.2 frames of work for a .275 opponent batting average.
Expected to start on the bump for the Bears on Tuesday is left-hander Daniel Castano (3-4, 4.54 ERA) while Wednesday's starter has yet to be named.
The McNeese-Baylor series began in 1982 when the Bears picked up two wins. The last time the two teams met in 2006, the Cowboys posted a 7-0 shutout over the Bears in Waco.
