BATON ROUGE— McNeese softball's season and the careers of seniors Marisa Taunton, Taylor Schmidt, Rachel Smith, Tori Yanitor and Baylee Corbello came to an end here late Sunday night in a 10-1 (6 inning) loss to LSU in the Baton Rouge Regional Tournament.
 
 "Obviously, you have to tip your hat to LSU," said head coach James Landreneau. "They took full advantage and they came out swinging the bats. At the end of the day, I'm just proud of our team. We can't be defined by one game. I thought our kids fought hard all year. They played through adversity and played really well all season. We had a tough game, but (Carley) Hoover came out and did a really good job in the circle. They were really swinging it well today."
 
McNeese ends its first season under first year head coach James Landreneau with a 43-18 record which ties the school record for victories.
 
"What I'll take away from this season more than anything and what I've learned as an individual is to have belief in young people. Our team showed such great mental toughness this season. They were loyal. They bought into the process, and they bought into being a good team and good people. I enjoy going to work everyday because of the people that I coach. I'll never forget them. This team is a special team and we'll have some achievements and accolades to show for it. However, what they taught me as an individual will go further than any trophy we've ever won," Landreneau said.
 
McNeese left runners stranded in scoring position in its first at bat when Alexandria Saldivar picked up a one out single to right followed by a walk to Erika Piancastelli. Both players moved up a base after a ground out by Morgan Catron but left the runners stranded with another ground out to end the inning.
 
After a five hour and 45-minute weather delay play resumed with Marisa Taunton on second base and Shelbi Strickland at the plate with a 3-2 count. Strickland grounded out to second base moving Taunton over to third for the second out. After a walk by Carleigh Chaumont, Taunton and Chaumont executed a double steal that scored Taunton for a 1-0 McNeese lead.
 
"They went through the same delay we did, so we have to be able to overcome that adversity. I think we rested up, and we were focused. I think we were ready, they just put some really good swings on some pitches and things went their way."
 
The Cowgirl lead didn't last long as LSU tied the game with a run in the top of the third inning. Emily Griggs reached base on a two out single and went to third on a double down the right field line by Sahvanna Jaquish. Griggs tied the game on a pass ball.
 
LSU took a 3-1 lead on a two RBI double down the right field line by Sydney Springfield that scored Shemiah Sanchez and Constance Quinn who both reached on singles.
 
Corbello exited the field where her collegiate career began with one out in the top of the fourth trailing 3-1.  Freshman Alexsandra Flores replaced Corbello and walked the first batter she faced to load the bases before Griggs hit a bases clearing double to left center to extend the LSU lead to 6-1. Another double by Jaquish scored Griggs for a 7-1 lead.   
 
"I think it's really cool to get to finish my career close to home. LSU is where I started, and it's good to have family in the stands. I love my new team, and I love where I finished up,' said Corbello. "McNeese has been nothing short of great. It's been amazing, and I can't thank the coaches and the senior class enough for welcoming me to the team. It felt like I had been there all along. It wasn't hard to fit in, and I just want to thank my teammates for allowing me to come in and take on a role."
 
After the Tigers scored six runs in the sixth, Flores was replaced by senior Rachel Smith. Smith gave up a single to Bailey Landry that scored Jaquish to extend the LSU lead to 8-1.
 
Cowgirls missed a chance to score some runs in the bottom of the fifth with one out and the bases loaded with its home run leader Piancastelli at the plate. Piancastelli hit a grounder to third who touched the base and threw out Piancastelli at first for the double play to end the threat.
 
LSU scored two more runs in the top of the sixth on a single to centerfield to take a 10-1 lead.
 
McNeese was outhit 14-3 with all three hits being singles from Saldivar, Piancastelli and Drew. Corbello suffered the loss, falling to 11-5 on the year. Griggs led LSU with three hits, three RBI and scored two runs. Hoover improved to 12-6 with the win.