LAKE CHARLES – McNeese Baseball returns to Southland Conference action this weekend when it hosts Abilene Christian in a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. at Joe Miller Ballpark.
The series will continue at 3 p.m. on Saturday and will conclude with a 1 o'clock start on Sunday. Sunday's game is also $1 hot dog day.
Saturday and Sunday's games will broadcast on the McNeese Radio Network (KEZM 1310 AM) and online at McNeeseSports.com. A video stream of all three games will also be available on the McNeese sports website.
The Cowboys (11-18 overall) will enter the series 7-5 in league play and in fifth place in the standings. ACU (14-13) is 2-10 in the conference and tied with Lamar in 12
th place.
McNeese is coming off a 9-4 win over LSU-Alexandria on Wednesday while ACU whipped Prairie View by a 16-0 score. The Wildcats lost nine straight games prior to beating Prairie View, and since winning the first two games against UNO in the second league series of the season, have dropped seven straight Southland games.
Cowboys' skipper
Justin Hill will stick with Friday and Saturday's regular pitching rotation of
Grant Anderson and
Bryan King but has not yet named a starter for Sunday.
Anderson is 2-3 on the year with a team-best 3.68 ERA among starters. Since being placed into the rotation a month ago, he junior has posted a 1-2 record and 3.38 ERA in three starts while opponents are hitting just .233 against him.
King has compiled a 2-1 record and 3.99 ERA in six starts on the year. He leads the team with two quality starts and opponents are hitting .238 off him on the season.
Offensively, the Cowboys are led at the plate by
Shane Selman with a .299 average followed by
Jacob Stracner at .282 and Reid Bourque with a .282 mark.
ACU tops the conference in hitting with a .306 team average and is led by Colton Eager's .351 average and Caleb Kyle who is hitting .346. The pair rank 5-6 in the league in individual hitting.
McNEESE IN SLC GAMES
The Cowboys are hitting .253 as a team in 12 conference games on the season, led by catcher/designated hitter
Dustin Duhon who is hitting .351 in 11 league games played.
Selman is close behind with a .340 conference batting average and Bourque is hitting .314 in Southland games only.
McNeese's pitching staff has posted a 3.92 ERA in league games with three saves.
STREAKING
Selman has reached base in all 12 conference games on the year in one form or another, and will enter the series riding a 9-game hitting streak in conference games.
KEEPING AN EYE ON CAREER RECORDS
Last week, Provenzano became the eighth player in school history to collect 200 career hits. He'll enter the weekend with 204 career hits, ranking seventh all-time, and needing four more to move into a tie for sixth with Connor Lloyd.
Provenzano also has hit 36 career doubles, which ranks him just outside the top 10. He needs two more to move into the top 10 and in a tie with Seth Granger at 38.
In addition, Provenzano has accumulated 282 total bases (8
th all-time), and 693 at-bats (5
th all-time)
Selman has 30 career home runs to rank him in a tie for sixth with Chip Stratton and Doug Cormier. Selman is also ranked ninth in total bases with 279.
SERIES
McNeese leads the all-time series 8-4. The Cowboys have won six straight in the series – back-to-back sweeps the last two seasons.
The series began back in 1973 with ACU winning two of the three games played that season. The Cowboys are 7-2 against the Wildcats since the series started back up in 2015.
ROTATION MATCHUP
Friday:
McNeese – RHP
Grant Anderson (2-3, 3.68, 29.1 IP, 27 H, 16 R, 12 ER, 19 BB, 29 K)
ACU – RHP Brock Barger (2-2, 5.50, 34.1 IP, 39 H, 28 R, 21 ER, 14 BB, 27 K)
Saturday:
McNeese – LHP
Bryan King (2-1, 3.99, 29.1 IP, 25 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 13 BB, 20 K)
ACU – RHP Garrett Hutson (2-0, 5.64, 22.1 IP, 27 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 6 BB, 18 K)
Sunday:
McNeese – TBA
ACU – TBA
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE BASEBALL STANDINGS
| Team |
SLC Games |
Overall |
| Sam Houston State |
9-0 |
21-7 |
| Southeastern Louisiana |
9-3 |
22-10 |
| Central Arkansas |
9-3 |
17-11 |
| UIW |
8-4 |
19-11 |
| McNeese |
7-5 |
11-18 |
| Houston Baptist |
5-4 |
12-17 |
| Northwestern State |
4-5 |
14-13 |
| Nicholls |
4-5 |
10-19 |
| New Orleans |
5-7 |
14-15 |
| Stephen F. Austin |
3-6 |
10-18 |
| Corpus Christi |
2-7 |
16-14 |
| Abilene Christian |
2-10 |
14-13 |
| Lamar |
2-10 |
6-23 |
THIS WEEKEND'S SERIES
Abilene Christian at McNeese
New Orleans at Lamar
Corpus Christi at Southeastern Louisiana
Sam Houston State at Nicholls
Houston Baptist at Central Arkansas
Stephen F. Austin at Northwestern State
Texas Southern at UIW
