LAKE CHARLES – Solid pitching, timely hitting and superb defense all came together on Friday night for McNeese in a 7-0 shutout win over Nicholls to open up a Southland Conference baseball series.
 
Starting pitcher Bryson Hudgens (1-2) threw six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits while striking out four, then Isaac Duplechain and Brad Kincaid followed by combining for three hitless innings as the Cowboys evened its league record to 16-16 and 23-26 overall. Kincaid saw his first action since March 26 as he's been sidelined with an injury.
 
At the plate, McNeese managed just five hits but those five came in crucial parts of the game.
 
After being held hitless through four innings by Nicholls starting pitcher Chase Gearing (4-4), first baseman Nate Collins drew a lead-off walk in the fifth and left fielder Julian Gonzales laid down a drag bunt for the team's first hit of the game.
 
Shortstop Reid Bourque moved the runners up to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, then with Brett Whelton pinch-hitting for Schuyler Thibodaux, drove in Collins with an RBI grounder to put McNeese on the board 1-0. Gonzales then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 2-0 game.
 
The Cowboys manufactured another run in the sixth when right fielder Clayton Rasbeary led-off with a single to left field then stole second. He advanced to third on a Nate Fisbeck deep fly out to right field and scored off a sac fly by Tré Obregon to put McNeese up 3-0.
 
Gonzales came up big again in the seventh with a two-run home run to make it a 5-0 advantage, and four batters later, Rasbeary popped a two-run homer, his eighth of the season, to put the Cowboys up 7-0.
 
In the field, the Cowboys came up with several defensive gems.
 
In the sixth inning and with a runner on third for the Colonels, catcher Ben David made a nice grab in foul territory in front of the back stop screen to end a scoring threat.
 
In the seventh, Bourque went full horizontal to rob a base hit for the second out of the inning. The following inning, Fisbeck made a diving stop at a grounder in the gap and turned a 4-6-3 double play. Fisbeck then got the final out of the game when he again made a diving stop in the gap and getting the out at first base on an off-balanced throw.
 
Both Rasbeary and Gonzales had two hits in the game to account for four of the Cowboys' five hits.
 
After getting singles in each of the first three innings, McNeese's pitchers held the Colonels hitless the final six innings.
 
The series will continue on Saturday with a double-header beginning at 2 p.m.