LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese Cowboys baseball team will hit the road this weekend when it plays the Northwestern State Demons in a three-game Southland Conference series at Brown-Stroud Field in Natchitoches starting on Thursday night.
 
Game one is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., game two will be on Friday at 6:30 p.m., and the series finale will be on Saturday at 2 p.m. The series will be played Thursday-Saturday instead of the regular Friday-Sunday format due to the Easter Sunday holiday which the conference has a rule to not play on the day.
 
The Cowboys have won two-straight series against the Demons but have split the last 10 with them 5-5. NSU is the defending conference tournament champions and defeated the Cowboys 2-1 in last year's tourney opening round.
 
The Cowboys (19-18, 6-9 SLC) are coming off a 12-3, non-conference loss to Southeastern Louisiana at home on Tuesday night in a game that saw both teams throw several arms from the bullpen in order to save them for the weekend. Northwestern State (20-14, 10-8 SLC) play tonight at home against LSU-Alexandria in a mid-week game after losing their weekend series at Southeastern Louisiana 2-1.
 
Juniors Jake Dickerson and Nate Fisbeck lead the Cowboys' high-powered offense with a .311 batting average. Dickerson and Fisbeck have combined for 87 hits, 9 HR, and 48 RBI's.
 
Senior right-hander Rhett Deaton (4-3, 4.09 ERA) will take the mound once again on Thursday night for his 10^th start of the year. In game one of last Friday's double header against UNO, Deaton was dominate, surrendering only one unearned run on five hits in 7.2 innings of work and picked up his fourth win on the year.
 
Junior left-hander Jonathan Ellison (2-2, 2.48 ERA) will get the start in the second game of the series on Friday and the starter for Saturday's match-up is still TBA.
 
 
UP TO THE PLATE
McNeese (19-18, 6-9 SLC) at Northwestern State (20-14, 10-8 SLC)
April 18-20 | Brown-Stroud Field, Natchitoches, LA
Live Stats | Live Audio
All-Time Series: McNeese leads 118-97-2
 
 
QUICK HITS
• McNeese enters the weekend series looking to bounce back from their mid-week loss to SLU and get back in the thick of things in league play. The Cowboys defeated UNO in a three-game series (W 2-1, L 2-0, W 16-4) and loss the SLU Lions (L 12-3) most recently.
• Junior second baseman Nate Fisbeck leads the Cowboys offensively with a .311 batting average, 11 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, and 26 RBI's.
• Junior utility player Jake Dickerson also has a huge bat for the Cowboys, as he heads into the game with a .311 batting average, six doubles, a home run, 22 RBI's, and nine stolen bases.
• The Cowboys currently have three starters hitting over .300 from the plate, Shane Selman, Dickerson, and Fisbeck.
• On the mound, Junior right-hander Jonathan Ellison leads the team. He has a 2.48 ERA, 2-2 record, 36.1 innings pitched, and 35 strikeouts in 10 appearances. He is one of four Cowboys pitchers with a sub-four ERA, including Will Dion (3.57), Bryan King (3.56), and Aidan Anderson (3.67).
• McNeese is batting .275 as a team and has a 4.69 ERA, compared to opponents' .246 average and 5.21 ERA.
 
ON THE OPPONENTS
• The Demons enter Thursday's game with a 20-14 record. Most recently, NW State was defeated by Southeastern La. last weekend, 2-1, in a three-game series.
• This will be their first conference home series since April 5 and their seventh overall conference series.
 
ON DECK
Following the weekend series against the Demons, the Cowboys will be home for one game before getting back on the road with a mid-week non-conference matchup against the No. 21 ranked Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Joe Miller Ballpark on Wednesday day at 6 p.m.
 
STAY CONNECTED
Follow McNeese Baseball on Twitter at @McNeeseBaseball, and "Like" McNeese Baseball on Facebook.