LAKE CHARLES— McNeese softball bounced back from its 7-6 Southland Conference series opening loss to Northwestern State Friday with a 4-0 shutout win in the second game of a doubleheader behind a one-hitter by Ashley Vallejo.  The series will conclude with the rubber game at 12 p.m. Saturday.
 
McNeese (27-12, 10-1 SLC) scored three runs in the first inning on two hits and took advantage of a Lady Demon error to take an early 3-0 lead.  The Cowgirls added a single run in the fourth inning on a double steal with Erin Ardoin stealing home.
 
Ashley Vallejo improved to 8-7 overall and 4-0 in league play and missed throwing a perfect game by the one hit.  Vallejo struck out 10 of the first 12 batters she faced in the game through four innings.  Vallejo got the other two NW State batters out on a line drive out to first base and a pop out to second base.  Vallejo started off the fifth inning by getting the first two batters out before giving up an infield hit on a slow roller to third in which Laney Roos beat the throw for the only Lady Demon hit of the game.  Vallejo ended the game with a career hit 14 strikeouts which ranks second most in a game for McNeese and the one-hitter is the second in her career .  The record of 20 strikeouts is held by Angela Harrison-Ynfante.
 
In the opening game, NW State (19-16, 6-4 SLC) got off to a hot hitting start and took advantage of a Cowgirl error in the first inning to jump out to a 3-0 lead.  NW State scored all three runs of its runs off four hits with two outs. McNeese cut into the lead by scoring two runs in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Whitney Tate and a bases loaded walk by Alayis Seneca.  Both teams added a single run in the third to put the Lady Demons up 4-3.
 
Kayla Lopez put the Cowgirls up 6-4 with a two out bases clearing triple in the fourth inning but NW State slowly came back to the game at six apiece with single runs in the fifth and the sixth.  The Lady Demons then took the lead in the top of the seventh on a RBI double to left center by Taylor Williams that scored Bailie Ragsdale for the go ahead run.
 
McNeese wasn't able to score the equalizer in the bottom of the seventh as Corine Poncho led the inning off with a single to left but was thrown out at second in an attempt to move into scoring position.  NW State's Maggi Darr then got Tate and Ardoin to ground out to end the game.  
 
Both teams used three pitchers each with Darr picking up the win to improve to 10-5 on the year. Freshman reliever Lindsay Davis suffered the loss to fall to 3-2 on the year after allowing one run on two hits in two innings. 
 
McNeese Notes
•- The loss in game one is the first McNeese conference loss of the season
•- The three errors in game one is the most by McNeese this season
•- McNeese picked up a combined 17 hits on the day
•- McNeese left 17 baserunners stranded, NW State left 13 stranded
•- Mariana Torres and Kaylee Lopez led McNeese with four hits apiece
•- Ashley Vallejo had a perfect game going through 4 2/3 innings before giving up her only hit of the game
•- The one-hitter by Vallejo is the second of her career
•- Vallejo struck out a career high 14 and it's the second most in McNeese single game history
•- Vallejo struck out 10 of the first 12 batters she faced