GAME DETAILS
Date: Friday, May 20
Time: 1 p.m. (CT)
Location: Evanston, Ill.  
Venue: Sharon J. Drysdale Field
Series Record: Notre Dame 1, McNeese 0
ESPN+
 
LAKE CHARLES – McNeese softball, the defending Southland Conference Tournament Champs will begin NCAA Regional Tournament play at the Evanston Region against #20 Notre Dame and the tournament's No. 2 seed at 1 p.m. (CT) Friday, May 20 at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. The game will broadcast on ESPN+.
It will be the second all-time meeting against the Irish who hold a 1-0 record against McNeese. The Irish defeated the Cowgirls 6-1 at the UL-Lafayette Classic in 2003.
McNeese (38-19), the tournament's No. 3 seed  is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth in the last six years. The Cowgirls will carry a seven game winning streak into the tournament who has also won 12 of its last 14 games.
 
Freshman Crislyne Moreno, the SLC Tournament MVP will lead the Cowgirls into its opening game with .366 batting average along with 48 hits, 10 doubles, 48 RBI, and seven walks.
 
Jil Poullard is right behind with a .364 average and leads the team with seven homeruns, a .650 slugging percent, 40 RBI, four triples, 35 walks, and is second on the team with 11 doubles.
 
Kendall Talley is batting .354 while Alayis Seneca enters the tournament with a .300 average. Talley leads the team with 57 hits, 12 doubles, 48 runs scored and is tied with Toni Perrin with a team high 20 stolen bases.
 
Seneca is second on the team with 43 runs, 19 walks, and is tied for second on the team with 51 hits and has only struck out four times this season, ranking her fourth in the nation in toughest to strikeout.
 
Ashley Vallejo (17-7) leads the pitching staff with a 2.20 ERA with eight shutouts and 117 strikeouts in 159.1 innings. Vallejo, who was named to the NFCA All-Region team, has won her last eight games.
 
Whitney Tate (12-9) has a 3.37 ERA and is second on the team with 53 strikeouts and 122.2 innings. Tate is returning to her old form from last season, having won four of her last six games and 10 of her last 12 games.
 
Shaelyn Sanders (7-2) has a 2.58 ERA in 78.2 innings with one shutout and 38 strikeouts and was the winning pitcher in the SLC Tournament Championship game.
 
Notre Dame is the tournament's No. 2 seed and is ranked No. 21 in the nation in the recent USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll. The Fighting Irish (39-10), posted a 16-5 record in the ACC and earned a regional at-large bid after falling to Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
 
Karina Gaskins, the ACC "Player of the Year", leads the Irish with a .434 batting average, 13 homeruns, and 59 RBI while freshman Jane Kronenberger, who was named to the Schutt Sports/NFCA D1 National Freshman of the Year Top 10 list, is second on the team with a .398 average with 35 hits, 10 doubles and 28 RBI. Six other Notre Dame players are hitting above .300.
 
The Irish have used three pitchers this season who all have 10 or more wins apiece. Payton Tidd leads the team in wins (15-4), 128.1 innings and 96 strikeouts and has a 2.51 ERA. Alexis Holloway is 14-3 on the season with 93 strikeouts in 114.2 innings with a 2.99 ERA while Shannon Becker (10-3) has a team low 1.63 ERA in 81.2 innings with 70 strikeouts.
 

EVANSTON REGIONAL SCHEDULE (All times CT) 

Friday, May 20
Game 1 - Notre Dame vs. McNeese - 1 p.m. CT | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2 - Northwestern vs. Oakland - 3:30 p.m. CT | ESPN+ | Live Stats | Radio Stream
Saturday, May 21
Game 3 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 12 p.m. CT
Game 4 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 2:30 p.m. CT
Game 5 - Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 5 p.m. CT

Sunday, May 22
Game 6 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 5 - 3 p.m. CT
Game 7 (if necessary) - 5:30 p.m. CT