LAKE CHARLES- The McNeese Cowboy baseball team lost a heartbreaker to the Creighton Bluejays Saturday night 11-7 at Joe Miller Ballpark.
 
With the decision, the Cowboys move to 3-3 on the season, while the Bluejays improve to 5-1.
 
Cowboys will be back on the field on Sunday afternoon to take on the Texas State Bobcats for the final game in the Lake Area Classic. First pitch has been moved up from 2 p.m. to 1 p.m.
 

KEY INNINGS
1st | In the top of the inning, the Bluejays lead off the game with a home run to take a 1-0 lead.
 
3rd | Creighton scored one run in the inning to move the lead to 2-0. The Cowboys respond in the bottom half for four runs of their own. After senior catcher Dustin Duhon and junior second baseman Nate Fisbeck both reach via the walk, true freshman Payton Harden delivered a two-RBI double in the right-center gap two score them both. Senior center fielder Shane Selman reached base and moved Harden over on the fielder's choice with the help of a throwing error by the Creighton shortstop. Harden would then score off of junior Clayton Rasbeary's. double to right field and Selman would score off of senior third baseman Carson Maxwell's sacrifice fly to give the Cowboys the 4-3 lead after three.
 
4th | In the fourth, the Cowboys would extend their lead to 5-3 after a solo home run by sophomore shortstop Reid Bourque.
 
5th | Creighton would tie the game up at 5-5 in the top of the inning.
 
8th | To lead off the bottom half of the inning, Selman would hit a hard ball to deep center field for a triple. Next batter, Rasbeary, hit a double down the right field line to score Selman and give the Cowboys the lead 6-5. Sophmore Julian Gonzales would come in to pinch run for Rasbeary a few batters later. Jacob Stracner would pinch hit for designated hitter Austin Nelson and then after three straight balls would be intentionally walked. Next batter, head coach Justin Hill called a double steal and on an errored throw by the Creighton catcher Gonzales would score to extend the Cowboy lead to 7-5 heading into the ninth.
 
9th | The Bluejays would draw two walks, be hit-by-pitch back to back batters, and string together three hits to score six runs and bring the score to the final 11-7.
 

MCNEESE NOTES
Offense:
• Rasbeary led McNeese with two hits going 2-for-4, with two doubles and two RBIs.

• Reid Bourque would hit his first home run of the season for his solo hit of the game, finishing 1-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
 
Pitching:
• Senior right-hander pitcher Peyton McLemore got the start for the Cowboys, surrendered one run from a leadoff home run, but then struck out five of his last seven batters.
• Senior left hander Bryan King would come in as a scheduled relief and throw 4.0 innings, surrendering four runs, three of the four earned on 6 hits and fan four batters.   
• Will Dion would relieve King to start the seventh inning and strikeout the side. Dion would pitch a total of 2.0 innings and strikeout five of the eight batters faced.
 • Hunter Reeves would enter the game in the 9^th for Dion after giving up back-to-back walks to begin the inning. He would finish the inning for the Cowboys for 1.0 innings pitched, five earned runs and two strikeouts, while being given his first loss of the year.

ON DECK
The Cowboys will take on Texas State in the lone and final game of day three of the Lake Area Classic.
 
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