McNeese (21-23, 14-13 SLC) at Northwestern State (22-20, 16-12 SLC)
 
DATES/TIMES
• Friday, May 7 – 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (7-inning and a 9-inning game)
• Saturday, May 8 – 2 p.m.
• Sunday, May 9 – 1 p.m.
 
WHERE
• Brown-Stroud Field, Natchitoches, La.
 
STREAM
• NSU Demon TV ($8.95 for a 24-hour all-access pass); link on McNeeseSports.com
 
LIVE STATS
• Link on McNeeseSports.com
 
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1 • Friday, 3 p.m. – 7 inning game
McN – LHP Will Dion (5-4, 3.88 ERA, 11 G, 10 GS, 62.2 IP, 12 BB, 72 SO)
NSU – RHP Johnathan Harmon (4-2, 4.53 ERA, 11 G, 11 GS, 57.2 IP, 23 BB, 37 SO)
 
Game 2 • Friday, 6:30 p.m. – 9 inning game
McN – RHP Bryson Hudgens (0-1, 4.05 ERA, 7 G, 5 GS, 26.2 IP, 11 BB, 11 SO)
NSU – LHP Cal Carver (5-4, 3.09 ERA, 11 G, 11 GS, 64.0 IP, 23 BB, 67 SO)
 
Game 3 • Saturday, 2 p.m. – 9 inning game
McN – LHP Jonathan Ellison (3-3, 3.47 ERA, 10 G, 9 GS, 46.2 IP, 26 BB, 43 SO)
NSU – RHP Levi David (2-5, 3.91 ERA, 11 G, 10 GS, 48.1 IP, 37 BB, 80 SO)
 
Game 4 • Sunday, 1 p.m. – 9 inning game
McN – RHP Ty Abraham (2-2, 5.31 ERA, 11 G, 8 GS, 42.1 IP, 27 BB, 43 SO)
NSU – RHP Donovan Ohnoutka (2-1, 2.33 ERA, 13 G, 5 GS, 38.2 IP, 22 BB, 35 SO)
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH JUSTIN HILL:
"It's always a challenging trip to go up to Northwestern. (Head coach) Bobby (Barbier) does a great job with them. They're pitching it really well. They always play good in Natchitoches. It'll be a challenge for us this weekend. We're starting to swing the bats well and showing what we can do with pitching. We've played good defense for the majority of the year. It's just a matter to be ready for Friday."
 
COWBOY NOTES:
• Another weekend of Southland Conference baseball has been altered due to the possibility of storms, and because of that, McNeese and NSU will now play a double header on Friday beginning at 3 p.m. with a 7-inning game with the second game starting, a 9-inning contest, starting no earlier than 6:30. A single game on Saturday will begin at 2 p.m. and Sunday's finale at 1.
• Head coach Justin Hill began his collegiate coaching career at Northwestern State as a graduate and volunteer assistant in 2004 and 2005, when at the time, NSU head coach Bobby Barbier was an Academic All-American player for the Demons.
• Hill has won 221 games in his head coaching career, all at McNeese. He's ranked second all-time in school history trailing only Hall of Fame coach Tony Robichaux (263 wins).
• Utility player Nate Collins hit .545 last week with three RBIs, a double and a HR. He lifted his season average from .370 prior to the four-game set vs. New Orleans to .421 afterwards.
• RF Clayton Rasbeary leads the league with 17 doubles and 65 hits, is second in hitting with a .361 average and tied for sixth with seven home runs.
• 2B Nate Fisbeck tops the conference with 45 runs batted in and is tied for third with 15 doubles.
 
LEAGUE STANDINGS:
• Southeastern Louisiana (18-10)
• New Orleans (20-12)
• Sam Houston (16-11)
• Abilene Christian (15-11)
• Northwestern State (16-12)
• McNeese (14-13)
• A&M-Corpus Christi (14-13)
• Nicholls (13-15)
• Lamar (11-13)
• Stephen F. Austin (12-15)
• Central Arkansas (12-16)
• Incarnate Word (12-20)
• HBU (7-19)
 
THIS WEEK'S CONFERENCE GAMES:
• McNeese at Northwestern State
• Lamar at Abilene Christian
• HBU at Incarnate Word
• Nicholls at Southeastern Louisiana
• Stephen F. Austin at A&M-Corpus Christi
• Central Arkansas at New Orleans