LAKE CHARLES—McNeese softball, the 2017 Southland Conference regular season champions, will look to conclude its regular season this weekend with a conference series at Southeastern Louisiana.
The series will begin with a 5 p.m. single game on Friday and will conclude with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday. Live streaming and live stats will be provided.
McNeese (36-16, 21-3 SLC) will look to post the most conference games in a season with the sweep. The 2016 team won a program best 23 conference games this is the fourth straight season McNeese wins 20 or more conference games.
The Cowgirls are led at the plate by sophomore
Justyce McClain's .427 overall batting average and is second in the league with a .476 average.
Erika Piancastelli has a .387 overall batting average but leads the league with a .483 average. She leads the Cowgirls with 11 home runs and 42 RBI, 54 walks.
The trio of pitchers (
Rachel Smith,
Baylee Corbello,
Alexsandra Flores) has a combined 2.60 team ERA. Smith leads the staff with a 14-7 record and a 2.51 ERA. Smith is 10-1 with a 1.13 ERA and is holding opponents to a .178 average in conference games. Corbello is 9-3 on the season and is undefeated at 6-0 in conference games with a 2.02 ERA. Flores is 10-4 overall with a 1.63 ERA and is 5-2 with a league low 0.83 ERA in conference games.
McNeese will face the nation's second best stealing team in the Lady Lions (26-26, 12-12). Southeastern La. has stolen 157 bases so far this season and has four of the Top 10 stolen base leaders in the conference. Jaquelyn Ramon, the school's career leader, leads the SLC with 52 stolen bases this season. Maddie Edmonston ranks second in the SLC with 31, Kalyn Watt ranks fourth with 23 and Kinsey Nichols has 15.
Southeastern La. has used seven different pitchers this season and will carry a staff 3.64 ERA into the series. Lacey Hill leads the staff in victories with nine (9-8) and senior Kasey Nielson has a staff low ERA of 2.21 with two saves.
The Lady Lions are one of six playing for the final three spots in next week's Southland Conference Tournament. McNeese, Nicholls and Lamar have all clinched a berth. Host Central Arkansas, Northwestern State, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Houston Baptist are also vying for a tournament spot.
