LAKE CHARLES – McNeese baseball will open play in the 2019 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament as the No. 5 seed and will take on 4th-seeded Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas.
 
Prior to the start of the tournament, the 2nd Annual Southland Conference Home Run Derby will kick off tourney weekend on Tuesday night at 6:30, also at Constellation Field.
 
A member of each of the eight tournament teams will participate in the derby.
 
Representing McNeese will be senior 1B/OF Jacob Stracner who has a career 14 home runs at McNeese.
 
Each batter will get four minutes on the clock starting with the first pitch and is allowed one 45-second timeout. If scores are even after all eight student-athletes have made their initial plate appearances, the tied players will enter a two-minute bonus round to decide the winner.
 
The derby is open to the public and tickets are $10 at the gate. Admission is free for students attending Southland Conference institutions (all schools, even those not competing) and children under the age of five.