LAKE CHARLES - The McNeese baseball team is set to hit the road for the first time this season as the Cowboys make the trip up to Monroe for a mid-week bout with in-state foe ULM Tuesday night.
 
Tuesday's contest is slated to begin at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on KEZM – 1310 AM and online at kezmonline.com. The game will be available to watch live and can be followed via live stats by clicking on the links under the McNeese baseball schedule page at McNeeseSports.com
 
The Pokes (3-0) are coming off one of the best opening weekends in recent history after clinching the 15^th Annual Lake Area Classic championship with victories over storied programs Stony Brook, Rhode Island and Missouri State. McNeese currently stands eighth in D1Baseball.com and WarrenNolan.com RPI rankings for their work on the diamond this weekend. It was the third time under head coach Justin Hill that the Cowboys posted a perfect 3-0 mark to start the season.
 
Sophomore Nate Fisbeck was on fire last weekend belting out some of the most impressive numbers across the country with 11 total RBIs off of five hits, including a triple and three home runs, for a 1.231 slugging percentage. He was responsible for helping the Pokes to two of the three victories this weekend. His seven RBIs in Friday's contest were the most by a Cowboy since 2001. The Woodlands, Texas native was also the first Poke to hit a home run in three consecutive games since Lucas Quary in 2015.
 
Expected to take the mound for the Cowboys is right-hander Zach Rider (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Tuesday. It will be the first start for Rider this season and second appearance after working an inning against Stony Brook on Friday. Last season, Rider finished with a 6.46 ERA and a 0-1 record in 17 appearances and 23.2 frames of work.
 
ULM (1-2) opened its season at Dallas Baptist over the weekend and dropped the last two contests to the Patriots to finish out the series. The Warhawks finished 20-35 last season and enters its fourth season under head coach Bruce Peddie.
 
Leading the offensive attack for ULM is Johnny DeLaCruz who enters the contest batting .455 with five hits, a double and five RBIs while ULM is batting .226 as a team through three games.
 
On the mound for the Warhawks this week is right-hander Kyle Backofen (0-0, 0.00) who has tossed 3.1 innings along with five strikeouts in relief work this season. The ULM pitching staff has a 7.92 ERA on the year and has struck out 25 and walked 13 through 25.0 innings.
 
McNeese and ULM met twice last season in Lake Charles. The two squads split the mid-week series in 2016 with The Pokes scoring an 11-2 win in the first game before being downed 12-4 the next night. McNeese leads the overall series against ULM, 78-71-1.