Box Score HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Payton Harden and Brad Burckel etched their names in the McNeese Baseball record book against Sam Houston here Tuesday night – Harden becoming the school's all-time hits and runs scored leader while Burckel extended his hitting streak to a record 25 games. 
 
McNeese dropped the first mid-week game of the season by a score of 18-6. The Cowboys (1-3) will visit UT Arlington for a weekend series beginning Friday. Sam Houston improves to 3-1 on the season.
 
Burckel got the record roll going in the top of the first inning when he put all nerves aside with single to right field, stretching his hitting streak to 25 games which started at the end of the 2022 season. His single broke the previous record of 24 games that was held by Joe Hullet and set in the 2007 season.
 
Harden entered the game with 254 career hits, tying him with Joe Provenzano with the most in school history. He got the record with a single up the middle in the top of the third inning. He added to it with another base knock up the middle in the fifth inning.
 
Both times off those hits, Harden scored as he became the school's career leader in runs scored with 165, breaking the record that was held by Reid Bourque and set last season.
 
McNeese jumped on top in the first inning when Josh Leslie delivered a 2-run home run over the left field wall. Sam Houston rallied with six runs in the bottom of the frame and added three more in the second to build a 9-2 lead.
 
Burckel popped a run-scoring double in the top of the third to cut the margin to 9-3 and after the Bearkats added two runs in the fourth to build an 11-3 lead, McNeese scored three runs in the fifth off Harden single and Andruw Gonzales grounder to make it an 11-6 game.
 
McNeese got two scoreless innings of relief from Brian Shadrick through the fifth and sixth innings but in the seventh, Sam Houston scored six runs off Payton Tinkler to open up a 17-6 lead.
 
Offensively, Cooper Hext, Harden and Burckel each had two hits with Hext hitting two doubles. The Bearkats out-hit the Cowboys 17-10.
 
Cowboy starter Luke Steward took the loss after allowing six runs on five hits without getting an out in the first inning as McNeese threw six arms in the game.