LAKE CHARLES – McNeese softball will open up its home season on Thursday when it hosts UT Arlington for the first of four straight days of action at Cowgirl Field.
 
Thursday's game will carry a 6 p.m. first pitch and the game will broadcast live on ESPN+. On Friday night, the Cowgirls will host the 6^th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. to kick-off the I-10 Border Classic.
 
The round-robin event will continue on Saturday at 1 p.m. when Missouri State plays Nicholls then McNeese will play Nicholls at 3:30 and Missouri State at 6.
 
The Cowgirls will close out the weekend on Sunday at noon against Tulsa.
 
McNeese will enter Thursday's game with a 3-2 record following its season-opening weekend at the Tarleton State Texan Classic. The Cowgirls defeated Bucknell twice and Marist once while falling to Tarleton State and Marist.
 
The Cowgirls came out of that tournament hitting .347 as a team with three home runs, 11 doubles and a triple.
 
Left fielder Samantha Mundine possessed a .667 batting average, going 6 for 12 at the plate with a double, five RBIs and six runs scored. After an 0-for-1 showing at the plate with an RBI in the opener against Tarleton, she produced a .727 average (8-11) the next four games.
 
Pitchers Ryann Schexnayder, Maddie Taylor and Alexis Dibbley all collected wins while starting a game apiece.
 
UT Arlington is 4-1 on the season with a pair of wins over Prairie View, a split against UIW, and a win over Eastern Illinois at the UIW tourney last weekend.
 
Catcher Kailee Bautista earned WAC Player of the Week honors for her play at the UIW tournament where she hit .385 with a home run, three doubles and eight RBIs.
 
The Mavericks are picked for a fifth place finish in the league this season.
 
Tennessee, ranked sixth in the nation, will come to Lake Charles with a 5-1 record and winners of five straight.
 
The Vols are outscoring their opponents 51-14 and with convincing wins over No. 21 Northwestern (12-1), Iowa (10-1) and Notre Dame (10-2) and with their only loss in the season opener to No. 17 Nebraska (7-1).
 
Tennessee is led by preseason All-SEC pitcher Karlyn Pickens and preseason All-SEC infielder McKenna Gibson.
 
McNeese Softball Schedule:
Thursday vs. UT Arlington, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday vs. #6 Tennessee, 5 p.m. DH (ESPN+)
Saturday vs. Nicholls, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+) and vs. Missouri State, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday vs. Tulsa, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)