LAKE CHARLES—Junior hurler Alexsandra Flores tossed a one-hitter here Thursday night in a McNeese softball season opening 8-0 (5 inning) run rule victory over Samford on the opening day of the Cowgirl Classic.

"It was good to see our kids come out with a ton of energy and we were able to put up a crooked number early in the game," said third year head coach James Landreneau. "I thought Alex (Flores) set the tempo early in the game attacking the zone and we came out early swinging and were able to keep our emotions in check." 
 
Flores (1-0) gave up her only hit of the game in the third inning and allowed only one walk, that also coming in the third inning. Flores, who was nearly perfect, faced a total of 16 batters- three in each inning except the third inning where she faced four batters.
 
The tournament will continue at 10 a.m. Friday morning and will continue through Sunday. The Cowgirls will take on Samford again Friday at 5:30 p.m. and preseason #14 Arkansas at 8 p.m. Friday. Both games will be televised on Cox Sports (within the viewing territory) and can be seen on ESPN+ via ESPN.com/watch and ESPN apps. outside the Cox territory.
 
Senior Justyce McClain opened her senior campaign proving why she is one of the top 100 players in the nation, per Softball America. McClain ended the night going 3 for 4 at the plate, scored three runs with one stolen base and hit her second career home run in the second inning to give the Cowgirls a 4-0 lead.

"J-Mac continues to get things going early for us and we just feed off of her and had some good swings tonight. All around, I thought we played some good defense, Alex attacked the zone really well and we weren't trying to force the issue," said Landreneau.
 
Junior Alexandria Saldivar picked up three hits and freshman Sara Geier picked up two in her collegiate debut.
 
In total, McNeese pounded out 11 hits while junior Alexsandra Flores was mastering a one-hitter in the circle.  
 
McNeese (1-0) scored at least one run in each of the five innings and took an early 3-0 lead in the opening frame.
 
The Cowgirls jumped on Samford (0-1) early by tacking three runs on two hits and took advantage of two Bulldog miscues.
 
McClain's long ball in the next frame put McNeese up 4-0 then an RBI single by Taylor Strother in the third gave McNeese a 5-0 lead.
 
Saldivar and Demi Boudreaux teamed up in the fourth to hit back-to-back doubles and a Geier single up the middle put the Cowgirls up 7-0.
 
The final run of the game came when McClain laid down a bunt, stole second and score the game winning run on a Saldivar single to left.
 
TOURNAMENT TICKET PRICES
Thursday, Feb. 7 (ONLY)- $8
Friday-Sunday- $12 per day
SEASON TICKETS
$75 for 30 games; McNeese faculty get a 20% discount
 
PROMOTIONS
Friday, Feb. 8- Free Pizza for McNeese students during Cowgirl games
 
TV GAMES
Four tournament games will be televised on Cox Sports
Fri.- Feb. 8 Samford vs. McNeese (5:30 p.m.)
                  Arkansas vs. McNeese (8 p.m.)
Sat.- Feb. 9 Samford vs. Arkansas (12:30 p.m.)
                     Lipscomb vs. Arkansas (3 p.m.)
 
LIVE STREAMING
McNeese will stream tournament games (excluding TV games) on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday on mcneesesports.com for a paid subscription.
 
LIVESTATS
Livestats will be provided for all tournament games on mcneesesports.com
 
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
 
THURSDAY FEB. 7
6 p.m.- McNeese vs. Samford
 
FRIDAY, FEB. 8
10 a.m.- Lipscomb vs. Campbell
12:30 p.m.- Samford vs. Lipscomb
3 p.m.- Campbell vs. Arkansas
5:30 p.m.- McNeese vs. Samford (Cox Sports)
8 p.m.- McNeese vs. Arkansas (Cox Sports)
 
SATURDAY, FEB. 9
10 a.m.- Campbell vs. Samford
12:30 p.m.- Arkansas vs. Samford (Cox Sports)
3 p.m.- Arkansas vs. Lipscomb (Cox Sports)
5:30 p.m.- McNeese vs. Campbell
8 p.m.- McNeese vs. Lipscomb
 
SUNDAY, FEB. 10
9 a.m.- Arkansas vs. Campbell
11:30 a.m.- McNeese vs. Lipscomb