LAKE CHARLES - Peyton Johnson's first at-bat in the 2022 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament was one to remember as he delivered a pinch-hit sac-fly in the 12th inning lifting No. 1 seeded McNeese Cowboys (34-21) to a 6-5 win over Southeastern (28-29), Thursday night at Joe Miller Ballpark in game one of the Southland Conference Championship Series.
The victory was the 12-straight win in the Southland Conference tournament for McNeese, matching the 2007-09 Sam Houston teams for the longest streak in league history.
The Cowboys scored six runs on 11 hits led by a 3-6 showing by Payton Harden, and 2-hit performances by Julian Gonzales and Andruw Gonzales.
Braden Duhon walked with one out in the 12th inning and advanced to third on Payton Harden's double to right-center field. Peyton Johnson was called upon to pinch-hit and smacked a fly ball to center which scored Duhon.
Cameron Foster (4-2) recorded the win after throwing 4.2 scoreless innings while striking out eight and allowing just one hit. He's recorded 18 punchouts on strikes in 9.2 innings of work in the postseason.
Starting pitcher Grant Rogers gritted out 5.1 innings allowing four earned runs while striking out three. Tyler Stone would enter to a bases-loaded situation in the sixth and recorded an inning-ending strikeout. Stone recorded all six outs via punchouts and allowed one run.
McNeese jumped ahead 2-0 after four innings, Braden Duhon singled home Reid Bourque (1B, SB, tag Up) in the third, and Kade Morris was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth.
Southeastern rallied with four runs in the top of the fifth on three hits including a bases-clearing double by Preston Faulkner.
McNeese would score a run in each of the next three innings to tie the game at five after eight innings.
The Cowboys loaded the bases (J. Gonzales 1B, A. Gonzales 1B, Bourque BB) with no outs in the bottom of the sixth and plated one run on Kade Morris' RBI groundout, cutting the deficit to one.
A walk by Josh Leslie and a single up the middle by Julian Gonzales set up an RBI single by Andruw Gonzales bringing the score to 5-4 Southeastern.
Brad Burckel doubled in the tying run in the eighth inning which would set up extra innings.
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Next Game:
The Cowboys look to take the series tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Joe Miller Ballpark, pitching probables are TBA.
